No objection to madrassas survey, but don't vilify system if a few evade rules: Darul Uloom to UP govt

Saharanpur (UP), Sep 18: Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband on Sunday said it has no objections to the Uttar Pradesh government’s survey of private madrassas but the whole system of such institutions should not be denigrated if a few don’t follow rules.

At a conference of representatives from various madrassas here, president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Maulana Arshad Madani said, "The doors of madrassas are always open for all," and that they operate under the country's Constitution.

During the conference, a 12-member steering committee was constituted, whose objectives include helping the madrassa managements during the survey and placing their grievances, if any, before the government. Talking to reporters after the conference, Madani said he has urged all madrassa managements to cooperate in the survey as they have nothing to hide.

He asked the managements to provide accurate information to the officials and also keep documents such as land papers and audit reports ready, besides ensuring cleanliness in their premises. At the same time, he urged the government not to disregard the entire madrassa system if “one or two institutions” failed to abide by the rules. Heavy security arrangements were made for the conference and the media was kept away.

On August 31, the Uttar Pradesh government had ordered a survey of all unrecognised private madrassas operating in the state and teams were formed accordingly. According to the order, the teams have been asked to complete the survey by October 15 and submit the report to the government in 10 days thereafter.

At present, about 16,000 private madrassas are operating in the state, including the world famous Nadwatul Ulama and Darul Uloom Deoband. After the government's decision, several madrassa operators had expressed apprehensions about the survey. A meeting of Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind was also held in Delhi on September 6, during which it decided to support the government in the survey but demanded zero interference in their internal affairs.