Indian court strikes down act governing Muslim schools in populous state

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - An Indian court in northern Uttar Pradesh state has scrapped a 2004 act governing Muslim schools or madrassas in the most populous Uttar Pradesh state.

The Allahabad High Court, while declaring the state’s Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 as “unconstitutional,” in its order said: “We hold that the Madarsa Act, 2004, is violative of the principle of secularism, which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India…”

The judgment by a division bench of justices Vivek Chaudhary and Subhash Vidyarthi on Friday came following a petition filed by a lawyer, who had challenged the constitutional validity of the act.

The court directed the government to take steps forthwith for accommodating these madrassa students in regular schools, “since there are large numbers of madrassas and madrassa students in State.”

“The state government for the said purpose shall ensure that as per requirement, a sufficient number of additional seats are created and further if required, a sufficient number of new schools are established. The state government shall also ensure that children between the ages of 6 to 14 years are not left without admission in duly recognized institutions,” it said.

Uttar Pradesh is the most populated province with a population of 204 million, with a minority Muslim community, comprising 38 million.

Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, head of state-run Uttar Pradesh's Madrassa Education Board, told Anadolu that the decision could impact 2.7 million students who are enrolled in 25,000 madrassas - both recognized and unrecognized - in the state.

“The court has delivered the judgment. The government should and will approach higher courts challenging this order,” he said.

The decision has come ahead of the country's general elections. Seven-phased polls in the world’s largest voting will begin on April 19.

The madrasas in India have come under tight scrutiny in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states. In the northeastern state of Assam, the authorities recently converted and renamed 1,281 madrassas across the state into schools.

Earlier in January this year, funds were stopped to over 21,000 teachers in the state who were providing modern education to the students enrolled at some 7,000 madrassas in the Uttar Pradesh state.