Achi news desk-
An Indian court on Friday banned madrasas (Islamic schools) in the country’s most populous state ahead of national elections, potentially driving Indian Muslims further away from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist administration.
The legislation, which has controlled madrasas in Uttar Pradesh (UP) since 2004, was overturned following a verdict that found it violated constitutional secularism rules and ordered children to be transferred to regular schools, according to Reuters.
According to Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, president of the Uttar Pradesh madrasa education board, the Allahabad High Court ruling affects 2.7 million pupils and 10,000 teachers in 25,000 madrasas, where one fifth of the 240 million population are Muslims.
“The state government will also ensure that children between the ages of 6 and 14 are not left unadmitted in duly recognized institutions,” Justices Subhash Vidyarthi and Vivek Chaudhary said in their judgment, issued in response to an appeal by lawyer Anshuman Singh Rathore.
This controversial decision comes ahead of India’s general election, which is scheduled for April to June and is widely expected to be won by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Muslims and rights groups have accused some BJP members and associates of spreading anti-Islamic hate speech and vigilantism, as well as vandalizing Muslim homes.
The BJP says the government is righting historical wrongs, such as the recent construction of a Hindu temple on the site of a 16th-century mosque demolished in 1992, which many Hindus believe was built over a temple demolished by Mughal king Babur. According to Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi, the court was not anti-madrasas but rather concerned about the education of Muslim children.
“We are not against madrasas, but we are against discriminatory behaviour. We are against illegal funding, and the government will decide on further steps after reviewing the court ruling.”
Meanwhile, Modi’s office remains unresponsive to the court’s verdict.
