By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 2 Sep: Pushkar Singh Dhami led BJP government has directed that all the madrasas functioning under the erstwhile Uttarakhand Madarsa Board without the required recognition be closed. Under the new system, only those madrasas which obtain recognition from the Uttarakhand Minority Education Authority and affiliation with the Uttarakhand Board of School Education would be allowed to function in the state. The latest directions are expected to affect more than 250 madrasas which have not yet obtained the mandatory recognition. For this, the government has launched a special drive to take action against the Madrasas which continue to operate without the necessary registration with Uttarakhand Minority Education Authority and affiliation with Uttarakhand Board of School Education.
In this regard, to begin with, two Madrasas have already been sealed including one operating in Bajpur in district Udham Singh Nagar.
CM Dhami has made it clear on several occasions recently that institutions functioning without complying with the prescribed rules and regulations will not be allowed to operate in Devbhoomi. The government has maintained that the move is aimed at bringing all the madrasa education within a regulated framework and ensuring that students receive education in accordance with the prescribed academic curriculum.
It may be recalled that the development assumes significance in the wake of the controversy that erupted during the Jashn-e-Mohammadi procession in Rudrapur in district Udham Singh Nagar district, where a mufti and other clerics had allegedly made objectionable and threatening remarks against the Dhami government at Trishul Chowk over its action against madrasas. Videos of the remarks have gone viral in India and abroad. Following this, the police have subsequently arrested the mufti from Rampur, while the following day the district administration sealed the madrasa run by Mufti Mujib, who had allegedly made the controversial remarks.
The district administration said the madrasa was functioning without recognition from the Minority Education Authority and was not complying with the new rules and regulations. At the same time, the administration has also sealed Madrasa Jamia Hanafia Razaul Uloom in Bajpur. The action was carried out by a joint team of the Revenue Department and police.
However, Madrasa operator Irshad Ali from Bajpur today raised serious questions over the action, claiming that the process for registration of the madrasa had already been initiated and the prescribed fee had also been deposited. He has claimed that he had shown the officials the documents relating to the application as well as the receipt for payment of the prescribed fee. Despite this, the madrasa was sealed.
It may be recalled that the Dhami government has abolished the Uttarakhand Madarsa Board and constituted the Uttarakhand Minority Education Authority. Madrasas functioning in the state are now required to obtain recognition from the authority and affiliate themselves with the Uttarakhand Board of School Education. The government’s move has, meanwhile, triggered opposition among sections of Muslim clerics and ulema, who have been organising themselves against the new system and issuing statements opposing the government’s decision. A petition has also been filed by some Islamic organisations against the abolition of Madrasa Board.
Speaking to Garhwal Post, Social Welfare and Minority Welfare Minister Khajan Das asserted that the government is not opposed to providing religious education to children studying in madrasas. However, he said the Chief Minister had issued clear directions that madrasas would have to be brought within a regulated framework. Despite this, he reminded that more than 200 of the 452 madrasas had so far refused to obtain recognition.
Das also claimed that the madrasas had been subjected to inspections in the past as well and that the present exercise is intended to ensure a strict compliance with the prescribed rules. He also pointed out that the minority community is not limited to Muslims and also included Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and members of other communities. The Minority Education Authority, he said, has been constituted to cover educational institutions belonging to all the minority communities rather than being restricted to madrasas alone.
Minority Welfare Department Secretary Dr Parag Madhukar Dhakate shared that 452 madrasas had earlier been registered with the Uttarakhand Madarsa Board and they would now have to obtain recognition from the Minority Education Authority. Those failing to obtain recognition would not be allowed to continue functioning, he said.
Dhakate said that online applications had been received from around 200 madrasas and the spot surveys of these institutions are being conducted. He added that, apart from recognition from the authority, the madrasas would also have to affiliate themselves with the Uttarakhand Board of School Education and teach the national education curriculum to their students.
At the same time, Uttarakhand Minority Education Authority chairman Prof Surjeet Singh Gandhi said recognition would be granted only to the madrasas which submit all the required documents and comply with the prescribed norms. The authorities would examine details such as the nature and structure of the building, the seating capacity available to students in each classroom and the arrangements for electricity, drinking water and toilets. He added that the madrasa operators would also be required to provide details of their bank accounts and disclose the sources from which they receive financial assistance. He added that the authority would also determine the curriculum for religious education to be imparted at these institutions.
Gandhi said the new authority would not be confined to Islamic institutions and would also cover minority educational institutions run by the Sikh, Buddhist and the Christian communities. The objective, he said, is to establish a common regulatory framework for minority educational institutions in the state.
Meanwhile the government has now initiated legal action against madrasas which fail to obtain the required recognition. The government has maintained that institutions refusing to comply with the new system will face action under the law. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has also reiterated that there is no place for what he described as unrecognised curriculum based education in Devbhoomi and that a particular kind of mindset would not be allowed to take root in the state. Referring to the arrest of the cleric accused of making inflammatory remarks, Dhami said that the person responsible for spreading extremism has been sent to jail and that the law was taking its course. The CM said that the rules and laws framed by the government would be implemented under all the circumstances and that legal action would be taken against madrasas which failed to obtain recognition.
