Shivaji bhonsle Posted November 23, 2014 Posted November 23, 2014 Madarsas in India have always been looked at with contempt, suspicion or have been allegedly seen as a breeding ground for potential jihadis or have been accused of radicalising young minds. But Central Intelligence agencies in a recent report have stated that Madarsas in India do not preach jihadi ideology, which is a welcome step for the Indian Muslims. In a report submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the agencies informed that several of these Madrasas were not involved in “Jihadi indoctrination”, and a survey was being carried out to identify the institutions where people from other countries were employed as teachers, mainly Bangladesh. It is also believed that these agencies were working secretly on this issue for more than a year, the India Today report said. The Indian Express quotes these agencies as saying,”There is no hate propaganda if the teachers are Indian Muslims and there is no Jihadi indoctrination.” The report suggests that several of these Madrasas running across the country are not involved in terror activities, but there could be anti-national elements involved in some of them operating in States like West Bengal and Assam. According to both these published news reports, the investigations reveal that almost all teachers at the Madarsas in Burdwan district of West Bengal were Bangladeshi nationals and could be involved with a terror group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh. The teachers affiliated with this group are allegedly behind the October 2 blast and are said to be attracting young Muslims to join the extremists. The report says that Madrasas with Muslim teachers from other countries could be actively “radicalising young minds” in India. The India Today article has quoted a Union Home Ministry official as saying, “We are concerned that there may be many more foreign teachers who are still attached with many Madrasas claiming to be Indian citizens with forged identity documents. Hence, a detailed study is required.” The portal further says that a survey will initially be conducted in States which share an international border-like West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This survey can be extended to other States as well. NITI SPOTLIGHT AAPlosion - Kejriwal's struggles The email, which has a Hindi translation following the part in English, contains proposals of holding internal elections at various levels of the organisational structure of the AAP. According to the data available, there are around 35,000 Madrasas across the country with an enrollment of about 15 lakh students. Most of these Madrasas are unrecognised. However, The Indian Express report also highlights a fact that majority of Madarsas which are run by Indians are not a threat to the nation or the security of the country, as they resist any kind of education which can lead to unemployment because their only focus is upon religious teachings These are mushrooming in Muslim-dominated areas where there are no good schools, and mostly poor people send their children to these places. Agreeing with the aforesaid report, Qamar Agha, a political commentator said that it is a respite for the Indian Muslims because they are allegedly looked at with suspicious eyes and this will definitely boost the morale of the community, especially in these hard times when radicalisation of Muslims in other countries is at peak. He further adds, “The Modi-led Government should ensure that these religious schools should not only stick to the traditional curriculum but also inculcate modern subjects so that their horizon is broadened and they too like any other school going child can lead a normal life. He further said that the Government’s initiative to scrunitise these Madarsas in Assam, West Bengal and Kerala will help nailing anti-national elements. Seconding Agha’s thoughts over the need of modernising the Madarsas across the country is Shantanu Gupta, an activist and founding-member of Yuva Foundation, who has tremendously worked in the field of education and has hands on experience with State-run Urdu speaking schools in Naandi, Hyderabad, says, “Modern education is the need of the hour for these children.” He further tells Niticentral that the children he had worked in Naandi use to attend Madarsas in the morning and come to these Urdu speaking schools, which were of not much help to them because their Urdu was very good in comparison to the kids who were enrolled in these normal schools.” The other point that he highlighted was the importance of Urdu language in today’s time because it is losing its popularity due to various factors, including there are not many takers of the language. Therefore, students of Urdu may not get jobs because of their language constraints. At the most they may land up a job at Wakf Board only. Hence, it becomes all the more important for the Government to encourage these students to enroll in modern subjects for their future along with religious studies. Shantanu Gupta also said that though every community has the right to open the schools but they must make sure that they are also educated enough to deal with the world. According to the Intelligence report, “These Madrasas are mostly free for students who are not just given Islamic education but also provided with free lodging and food, besides some cash to buy clothes if they are extremely poor. There is a need to encourage these Madrasas to incorporate elements of modern curriculum to help their students in terms of employment and life skills.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in fact invoked sentiments that he wants to see “A Quran in one hand of the Muslim youth and the laptop in the other hand.” If one goes by the Intelligence report then there is a need for reformation of these Madarsas so that these people can find employment and are able to lead their lives without being accused of being Jihadis. Even the Narendra Modi Government in its Budget had allocated Rs 100 crores for the modernisation of these Madarsas. http://www.niticentral.com/2014/11/23/madarsa-reforms-intel-report-gives-new-hope-246078.html
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