Uttar Pradesh’s Minority Affairs Minister Dharampal Singh has slammed the Muslims leaders opposing the survey of private unrecognised madrasas, saying they never enroll their children in theological schools and that is the reason for opposing the survey.
“There should be no cause of concern over the survey. Leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi send their children to private schools and pay exorbitant fees. In madrasas only poor children are enrolled and they will be benefitted by the survey, so the Muslims leaders are questioning the survey and attributing political motives to it,” Dharmapal Singh said on Sunday. Moreover, the minister said as the survey would bring out the sources of funds of a large number of private unrecognised madrasas, this could be one of the reasons for opposing the survey.
“Owaisi has described the survey as a mini NRC (National Register of Citizens), but neither he nor his children were ever students of a madrasa. Let him first enroll his son in a madrasa then he will earn the right to speak about the madrasas,” the minister said.
With the Uttar Pradesh government ordering a survey of private madrasas, proprietors of theological schools fear that their institutions may be declared illegal and "run over by bulldozers". The clerics had expressed the fear on September 6 in New Delhi at a meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, (Arshad Madani faction) and organisations of Islamic clerics belonging to the Deobandi school of Sunni Islamic thought. The UP government had then said that these apprehensions had no basis.
The Muslim body's president Maulana Arshad Madani said nobody had any objection if the government wanted to conduct a survey of private madrasas but care should be taken so that it does not interfere in their internal matters. The Jamiat has convened a meeting on September 24 in Darul Uloom Deoband to chalk out the future course of action.
Meanwhile, UP Minister of State for Minority Affairs Danish Azad Ansari assured that no madras would be demolished. "Those expressing such apprehension should tell if any madrasa was demolished in the previous five years of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government. The anxiety has no basis," he said.
The lone Muslim minister in the Yogi Adityanath government said the state government was working honestly to bring madrasas into the mainstream.
“The purpose of the survey is to know the actual condition of the madrasas and help them in lifting their standards," he added.
The minister said that during the survey, owners of private madrasas would be asked about the government scheme they wanted and they would also be given information about development programmes run by the government for the minorities.
"Relevant papers and forms regarding schemes for minority communities will be made available to them during the survey so that welfare schemes reach villages and towns deprived of them till now," Ansari said.
Ansari asked critics to stay away from politics "if they are supporters of Muslims’ uplift".
All-India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli criticised Owaisi for dubbing the survey as a "mini NRC" and said everything should not be politicised.
The Uttar Pradesh government had on August 31 taken the decision to conduct a survey to assess basic facilities available in private madrasas. The district magistrates have been directed by the government to submit their reports to the state government by October 25.
Information like the name of the madrasa, its owner, whether it is run from a rented premises, number of students enrolled, arrangements of drinking water, toilet, power supply and furniture will be collected in the survey. It will also seek information about the number of teachers in every theological school, syllabus followed, source of income and whether the institutions are linked with any non-governmental organisation (NGO).