India's ruling party 'derecognizes' madrasas in Mahrashtra state
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India鈥檚 ruling government, has derecognized madrasas (Islamic seminaries) as formal schools in the BJP-run state of Maharashtra if they don鈥檛 teach like English, math, science, and social science.
This comes despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi鈥檚 decision to grant towards madrasa modernization in 2014.
State authorities say the move is a way to bring madrasa students into mainstream formal education. They plan to conduct a on July 4 to identify out-of-school children as a result of the new measure.
鈥淥ur only aim behind doing this is to ensure that every child of the [Muslim] minority community gets a chance to learn and come into the mainstream, get good paying jobs and have a prosperous future," State minorities affairs minister Eknath Khadse said, 谤别辫辞谤迟别诲.听
Authorities they would be happy to fund madrasas and provide teaching staff to deliver students formal education.
The government said that of a total 1,890 in the state, 550 agreed to teach the four prescribed subjects to students.
"Madrasas are giving students education on religion and not giving them formal education. Our Constitution says every child has the right to take formal education, which madrasas do not provide," Khadse said, according to .
"It is ill-designed and ill-timed, I don't know why they are doing it," of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Madrasas, he said, are part of formal education and their students get direct admission to universities.
For some, the move also raised questions about students at Hindu institutions that focus on Vedic (Hindu) studies. Would these students also be considered out-of-school under similar circumstances, Asaduddin Owaisi,聽president of All India Council of the Union of Muslims.
Sanjay Nirupam, a spokesperson for the opposition Congress party, called the move unconstitutional, according to . 鈥淣o child should be discriminated along religious lines,鈥� Nirupman said. 鈥淲e are going to take the issue in the state assembly.鈥�
reported that public interest litigation challenging the derecognition has been filed at the Bombay High Court.
The ruling BJP government has, in several instances, been accused of perpetuating religious polarization in India 鈥� although there is often discord within the party between hard-liners and those worried about being seen on the wrong side of India鈥檚 secular constitution.
Hindus comprise about 78 percent of the total Indian聽 and Muslims about 15 percent.
As part of a campaign against 鈥溾�� 鈥� the supposed practice of Muslims seducing Hindu girls to convert them to Islam 鈥� assailants connected to right wing political parties, including the BJP, have stopped weddings between interfaith couples and forced married women to desert their Muslim husbands and marry Hindus instead, according to a 2014 opinion piece in .
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist group that is the BJP鈥檚 ideological wing, drove 鈥�," a campaign to reconvert people to Hinduism 鈥� based on claims Muslims and 海角大神s forced Hindus to convert to their religions for centuries.
Some converts reported being tricked into conversion ceremonies with promises of economic benefits, according to .
鈥淲e will bring back those who have lost their way,鈥� Mohan Bhagwat, leader of the RSS.
鈥淲hat is the meaning of this 鈥榟omecoming鈥�? We are already in our home,鈥� said Abraham Varghese, a 海角大神 Indian, Al Jazeera.
