The government of Uttar Pradesh has mandated the closure of all ‘unauthorized madrassas’ within the state, along with the imposition of a daily fine of Rs 10,000 for non-compliance.
This directive, which was issued by the Minority Welfare Department on 23 October, explicitly requires that only madrassas registered with the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education (UPBME) will be permitted to continue their operations. The UPBME said that there are 19,213 registered madrassas in the state, out of which 16,461 are recognized by the UP government.
The government order also directs the district magistrates and police to take action against the ‘unauthorised madrassas’ and submit a report within 15 days. The ‘unauthorised madrassas’ are violating the provisions of the UP Madrassa Education Act, 2004, and the UP Madrassa Education Rules, 2016, said the order.
Maulana Zakir Husain, secretary of the Uttar Pradesh unit of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said the madrasas in the state are “being harassed by serving them illegal notices only to target a particular community.”
“The madrasas are providing free of cost education to the students, they will not be able to pay the fine of Rs 10,000 per day,” Husain said.
The chairman of the UP Board of Madrasa Education, Iftikhar Ahmed Javed told Times of India that the investigations were infringing on the rights of madrasas. “No one, including the education department, has the right to interfere in madrasa matters. Only [the] minority department can do it,” Ahmed was quoted as saying.
The state’s BJP government has established a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate 4,000 madrasas, many of which are situated along the Indo-Nepal border. The Hindu nationalist government has accused these madrasas of receiving foreign funds, a claim vehemently denied by Muslim groups.
