DNA Special: Analysis of Assam's stance towards religious education

They say that childhood is like wet soil and the shape that you give to the personality of your children becomes the foundation of their future. But the question is, how many of you want your children to be clergy, maulvi or priests in childhood? If you want it, does your child want the same? If everyone in India has the freedom to choose their religion and worship system, then why are these freedoms taken away from the children?

At the heart of this analysis is a new decision of the Assam government. Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that all madarsas and Sanskrit schools now running in his state will be converted into general schools. Besides, teachers teaching Madarsas will also be transferred to new schools. The Assam government categorically says that the government's money cannot be taught to children in the Quran and if the Quran can be studied at government expense, then why cannot the Gita or the Bible be taught. But now, like every decision, the decision has also begun to be contested, and the country has been divided into two parts. Interestingly, the splitting has also opened up a poll of those who call themselves Secular. These people are calling this decision an injustice to minorities. Our question to these people is whether the entry of religion into education is against Secularism or that it is true Secularism to free education from religion. Today, we will try to understand why children should be given religious education at government expense in a country where the demand for Uniform Civil Code is coming up?

There are currently a total of 18 states including Assam in India where Madarsas get funding from the Central government. These include states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. But now Assam has banned this practice. But politics has also begun on this decision to separate religion and education. You should also know what is the stand of different political parties.

Almost all governments do it because India's history of 70 years is full of similar examples of religious appeasement. The Constitution of India also gives the minority the right to have education accordingly.

According to Article 30 of the Constitution, the minorities of India have the right to set up their own linguistic and educational institutions and they can also ask for a grant from the government without any discrimination and the madrassas in India run on the basis of the same article of the Constitution.

But the question is how it is possible without separating religion from education in a country where there is a demand to implement the Uniform Civil Code. The bigger question, however, is even small children who are not able to identify right and wrong. How will they know that what they are being taught will lead them on the path of progress or make them radicals?

According to the Education Ministry's data for the year 2018, the central government is currently assisted to improve the quality of education in madarsas running in 18 states of India. There are four states in India where there are more than 10,000 madarsas with more than 20 lakh students studying. Most of these madarsas are in Uttar Pradesh where more than 18 lakh students study in more than 8,000 madarsas. But you should also understand what is taught to students in these madarsas.

Originally, in madrasas, students are given Islamic education, they teach what is said in the Qur'an, and study Islamic laws and other subjects related to Islam.

Madrasas are said to have started in the seventh century when those wishing to gain religious education began to be taught about Islam in mosques. During the subsequent 400 years, madrassa began to develop into separate centres of education.

Initially, the cost of madarsas was raised by those who were financially prosperous. Then, by the 11th century, madrasas began to grow into the largest centre of religious education, as madrasas got money.. However, they also received permanent buildings, teachers and maintenance staff.

In an era when only 5 per cent of western people were able to read and write, millions of Muslims in Madrasas began to get education and madrasas were established in countries like Russia, Mongolia, China, India and Malaysia.

But during the 19th and 20th centuries, the British began to dominate and Christian missionary schools began to be established around the world. The purpose behind the establishment of these schools was also to propagate religion, but the only difference was that the Missionary schools also taught science, mathematics and technology education. This helped people get employment and more and more people started coming to Christians' schools. While in the absence of modern education, there was a lack of employment for students studying from Madarsas and gradually these people began to lag behind economically and socially.

Madrasas were established in India from the 10th century. That is, as soon as the Muslim invaders occupied large parts of India, Islam began to be propagated through Madrasas in India.

The number of Madarsas in Assam, which have been decided to convert to schools, is more than 1,500. Out of these, 614 are government and 900 are private madrassa. The government spends Rs 3 to 4 crore every year on these. But now these madarsas will stop getting these help from the government. While Sanskrit schools cost about Rs 1 crore every year. But these discrimination is not limited to any one state. Vaishno Devi University in Jammu and Kashmir was to be given a grant of Rs 7 crore, but only half of that grant has been released so far, while a grant of Rs 20 crore has been issued for the Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University of Rajouri and the Islamic University located at Avantipura in Kashmir and the two universities have also received an additional grant of Rs 25-25 crore. All three universities are funded by the state. These discriminations are shocking.

Those who are opposing the Assam government's decision say the government is taking away the religious freedom from Muslims. But here you should understand how much work is done by the students studying here in madarsas in the name of religious education?

According to research by ShodhGanga, an institution that digitises theses by PhD students, only 2 per cent of students studying in Madarsas want to get higher education in future, while 42 per cent of the students aim to propagate religion in future,  16 percent of students want to teach religion as teachers and 8 percent of students want to serve Islam, while 30 percent aim to do social work and 2 per cent of the students want to become dharma gurus in future.

That is, after studying at Madrasas, the desire to succeed in science or in the field of technology is very nominal. We feel that it is not a student but a system that deprives students of modern education under the guise of religion.

According to data from the National Statistical Office, only 48 per cent of Muslim students in India are able to study up to Class XII. While only 14 per cent of Muslim students are destined to study beyond class XII.

That is, for 70 years,  governments have considered Muslims as vote banks and they were pushed back from the forefront of education, health and prosperity. Under the guise of this appeasement, minority women were not liberated from triple talaq for years, Shari'a laws were promoted, and the opportunities for modern education from minorities were also taken away by creating a nexus of education and religion in Madarsas.

Giving religious education to young children is neither right or wrong, but whatever is sown in young minds definitely has an impact in the long run. This in turn decides the future of the country.