Made in a Madrasa
SYED KHURRAM RAZA
So you believe a madrasa is a centre of Islamic ‘indoctrination’ where Muslims are caught young and put through the paces in preparation for a life that begins and ends with religion? Banish the thought forthwith. There is life beyond theology in the madrasas across India.
Not only are an increasing number of Hindu names appearing on the rolls of these fast evolving Islamic seminaries, where modern science tomes sit cheek-by-jowl with books of religious studies, this swelling band of non-Muslim students is making the trend count by grabbing top spots on the merit list.
Take the case of Hemlata a Hindu, all of nine. She knows the Quran by heart. This student of the Khagaul madrasa is Bihar’s first non-Muslim hafiz (one who can recite the Quranic verses end to end). And she isn’t the only one in her Hindu family who reads the Quran. Her brother, too, can.
The two Khagaul siblings are among a steadily growing number of Hindus who study in madrasas in Bihar and other Indian states. Maulana Mazhar-ul Haq, head of Madrasa Banat Kishori Taiyaba, says: “We take in, on an average, four to five non-Muslim students every year. By the time they leave, they master the Arabic language and are able to recite the Quran with absolute fluency.”
Anjali Raj, an 18-year-old student of Madrasa Emadul Uloom, Patna, is one prominent new face of this trend. She scored 805 marks in her Fauqania (Class 10th) examinations and is a bit of a celebrity. “Several journalists have interviewed my daughter. People are coming from Delhi to talk to her. It is a great feeling,” says Ajay Raj, Anjali’s proud father.” (see accompanying story) Anjali’s younger sister, Muskan, a student of Standard 4, is also a keen student of Urdu. “Muskan has more passion for the language than me and she learns a new word each day. I am confident that she will do much better than me,” says Anjali.
Her confidence is probably not misplaced. This year, about 100 non-Muslim students passed the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board (BSMEB) Maulvi (12th Standard), Fauqania (10th Standard) and Wastania (middle-level) examinations. Says the BSMEB chairman Maulana Eijaz Ahmed: “The positive thing is that the parents of these successful students feel that madrasa education is better than studying in a general school. It makes their wards more disciplined.”
Lakshmi Narain, father of madrasa student Pooja Kumari of village Bardaha, Araria district, was keen to see his children learn to read and write Urdu. So not only did he enrol them in madrasas, he also engaged two maulvis as language tutors. “My daughter didn’t face any problem in the madrasa. She can now recite the Quran. I firmly believe that madrasas impart better education than regular schools,” he says.
Pooja’s brothers, Suraj Narain and Shiv Narain, also go to a madrasa. Says Lakshmi Narain: “Those who say madrasas breed religious extremism do not know what they are talking about.” Pooja echoes her father’s view: “These madrasas are great centres of education, even better than other schools.” Hindu students are making their mark at every level of the madrasa education system. Sisters Preetam Kumari and Priyanka Kumari, students of Madrasa Islamia, Sandalpur, Araria district, Bihar, have passed the Maulvi exams with flying colours.
Krishan Kant Murari, a Begusarai-based Urdu teacher who is himself a product of the madrasa system, tells TSI: “I personally found nothing unusual in a madrasa, but I had a tough time at one point as a few Muslims were opposed to the idea of Hindus studying in a madrasa. The madrasa principal had to face strong opposition from his community but he didn’t buckle under pressure.”
He says: “Madrasa teachers here are far more dedicated and focused.“ Murari, however, has a grouse. “Urdu teachers aren’t treated on par with government teachers and therefore, are not eligible for bank loans. The state government should address this anomaly and treat us on par with its other employees,” he says.
The principal of Shams-ul-Huda Madrasa, Maulana Abul Qasmi, advocated teaching about other religions in his seminary. He organised a one-day seminar on the Hindu epic, Ramayan, in his madrasa. He says: “Madrasas are national assets because moral education is a key element in their syllabus.” Youngsters like Sanjay Kumar, Anjali Raj, Balakrishna Sah and Sanam Kumari have one thing in common, besides being Hindus: they have all topped in their Fauqania and Maulvi exams. Sanjay Kumar scored 893 marks out of 1000 in his Maulvi exams.
Ten non-Muslim students have secured top ranks in their respective exams. Bihar has over 4,000 madrasas, including 1118 state-run Islamic schools, 32 madrasas for girls under the government-aided category and 576 unaided institutions. Sceptics allege that non-Muslim students join madrasas because the examinations here are held without proper invigilation and no police force is ever deployed to keep a watch. The implication is that it is easier to resort to unfair means and score high marks.
Laiq Emadi, a lecturer in Veer Kunwar Singh University, Arrah, refutes this allegation. “No incident of cheating has ever been reported from a madrasa. Moreover, only religious papers are checked internally; answer papers of all other subjects are examined by lecturers of reputed universities. So there can be no scope of any leniency in marking.”
In a madrasa in Biswa of Deoria district in UP, shlokas are taught along with Quran. The head of the madrasa, Mohd Ahmed Raza, says: “There are 12 non-Muslim students here and our seminary provides free education and has boarding facilities for outstation students. The intermingling of religions on the campus promotes understanding between the two communities.” In West Bengal, too, madrasas attract non-Muslim students in large numbers. One of the reasons for the growing popularity of madrasas is that they no longer teach only theology. The emphasis is now fully on modern education.
There are reports that Hindu students outnumber Muslims in at least four madrasas of West Bengal. The quantum of non-Muslim students varies from 57 to 64 per cent in these four seminaries. As many as 618 students of a total of 1077 students at Kasba MM High Madrasa in North Dinajpur, 554 of 868 in a madrasa at Orgam, 201 of 312 in a madrasa at Chandrakona and 290 of 480 in a madrasa at Ekmukha are Hindus.
“It is a misconception that only Islamic theology is taught there. Computer education is now very much a part of the madrasa syllabus,” says Rahat Mazahiri, a maulvi and graduate from Mazahirul Uloom, a reputed madrasa. Supportive of this trend, Abdul Hameed Nomani of Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind is of the view that this would pave way for a better understanding of each other in general and of Islam in particular. He says: “This is a welcome sign but we have to see that non-Muslims do not come here merely because it would fetch them jobs. The aim should be to provide quality education and foster better understanding of Islam as a religion.”
Siddiqullah Chaudhury, general secretary, Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind of West Bengal, says: “In these government-affiliated madrasas, 80 per cent of the syllabus is general and the remaining 20 per cent is theology. Many of these madrasas are madrasas only in name and non-Muslim students enrol here simply to improve their long-term prospects.” Chaudhury alleges that over the years, West Bengal’s Left Front government distorted the very purpose of running madrasas. “They were converted into general schools,” he adds.
Asghar Ali Engineer, president of the Mumbai-based Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, says: “There is no tradition in Maharashtra of non-Muslims studying in madrasas but in Allahabad some non-Muslim parents do send their wards to madrasas.” In the 1980s, Engineer explains, Muslims and their leadership were angry over the court decision in the Shah Bano case. “So they adopted a rigid posture in the hope that this would help them wrest their rights. In reality, the outcome was just the opposite,” says the reputed thinker. In the wake of this phase of brinkmanship on both sides, he points out, problems only multiplied for Muslims.
“Events like the Babri Masjid demolition and the Gujarat riots shook the community. The Muslim leadership realised that an unbending approach wouldn’t be the right strategy and cordial relations with the majority community would be the key. Education emerged as the field where a fresh beginning could be made,” says Engineer.
“This is not really a new trend; it’s been here for long,” says Professor Imtiaz Ahmed. “Wherever there are no educational facilities, people use the options available in that particular area. This is prevalent not only in West Bengal, Bihar or Andhra Pradesh, but also in Rajasthan. Wherever there is a shortage of schools, non-Muslim children go to madrasas for education.”
Prof Ahmed emphasises the fact that madrasa is a “general term”. He explains: “There are three kinds of madrasas. One where only general education is imparted; the second type is run by Maulanas but are affiliated to Boards; and the third kind teach only theology and prepare students to become maulvis.”
The world is changing both within and without. The madrasas are no longer the preserve of one community as is commonly perceived.
Made in a Madrasa - The Sunday Indian
), but no one wants to talk constructively....it would have been wonderful to get to know the views and the practical experiences of others who have been to/ have knowledge of Madarsas....
off topic, Do you think a place having a number of Pakistani's, Chinese, Bangladeshi's and to top it all Indians will be a sane place. 
