20 Jul. 24: The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), along with several prominent religious and community organizations and madrasa rectors, has issued a strong condemnation of recent efforts by BJP-led governments in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and other states to undermine the status and identity of madrasas. They have particularly criticized the order by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary mandating the forced transfer of students from non-recognized madrasas to government schools.
The joint statement condemns the Chief Secretary’s actions as an unwarranted attempt to disrupt a long-standing educational system, which it claims is causing significant harm to millions of children and imposing undue psychological stress on them. The statement described these actions as a blatant violation of the Constitution, asserting that under Article 30(1), minorities have the fundamental right to establish and manage their educational institutions.
The organizations called for an end to these illegal and unethical measures and warned that they would pursue all possible legal and democratic actions to challenge these policies. They also criticized directives from National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) as being beyond its jurisdiction and illegal.
In response to these directives, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary has ordered district authorities to survey madrasas and transfer students from “unrecognized schools” (independent madrasas) to government institutions. This list includes 8,449 madrasas, among them historically significant institutions such as Darul Uloom Deoband, Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow, Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur, Jamia Salafia Varanasi, Jamia Ashrafia Mubarakpur, Madrasatul Islah Sarai Mir, and Jamiatul Falah Bilariaganj. The statement decried the pressure on district magistrates to enforce these transfers and noted that non-Muslim students have also been forcibly moved, which the statement views as an attack on personal choice and India’s cultural heritage.
In Madhya Pradesh, the situation has worsened with a requirement for madrasa students to perform Saraswati Vandana daily. The statement emphasized that the Right to Education Act explicitly exempts religious schools, which provide essential services such as free quality education, food, and accommodation to millions of children and support educational advancement in the Muslim community.
The statement was endorsed by:
– Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, President, AIMPLB
– Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, Vice President AIMPLB and President, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind
– Maulana Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali Naqvi, Vice President AIMPLB
– Syed Sadatullah Husaini, Vice President AIMPLB and Amir, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind
– Maulana Asghar Imam Ali Mehdi, Vice President AIMPLB and Amir, Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith
– Maulana Mohammad Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, General Secretary, AIMPLB
– Maulana Syed Mahmood Asad Madani, President, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind
– Maulana Mohammad Umrain Mahfooz Rahmani, Secretary, AIMPLB
– Maulana Syed Ahmad Wali Faisal Rahmani, Secretary AIMPLB and Ameer-e-Shariat, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand
– Maulana Syed Bilal Abdulhai Hasani, Secretary AIMPLB and Administrator, Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow
– Maulana Dr. Yasin Ali Usmani, Secretary AIMPLB
– Maulana Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani, Administrator, Darul Uloom Deoband
– Maulana Abdullah Saud Salafi, General Secretary, Jamia Salafia Varanasi
– Maulana Mohammad Idrees Bastawi, Deputy Administrator, Jamia Ashrafia Mubarakpur (Azamgarh)
– Mufti Mohammad Saleh Mazaheri, General Secretary, Mazahir Uloom, Saharanpur
– Jb. T. Arif Ali, Head of Jamiatul Falah, Bilariaganj
– Maulana Mohammad Sufyan Qasmi, Administrator, Darul Uloom Waqf Deoband
– Maulana Mohammad Saeedi Mazaheri, Administrator, Jamia Mazahir Uloom Waqf Saharanpur
– Dr. Fakhrul Islam Islahi, Administrator, Madrasatul Islah, Sarai Mir
