Adv. Sharfuddin Ahmad, National Vice President, Social Democratic Party of India has stated that the UP-government act of illegalising more than 300 madrasas including the renowned Darul Uloom Deoband is part of the RSS agenda of alienating the Muslim community. The government claims that they have, through a survey, found out that these Madrasas are not recognised by the State Madrasa Education Board.

According to the Darul Uloom Deoband’s vice chancellor, Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani, the institution, in its more than 150 years of functioning, has never accepted any type of aid or donation from a government. Despite not being registered with the Board, Darul Uloom carries out educational work in accordance with the Indian Constitution. Darul Uloom’s “Shura Society” is registered under the Societies Act and the institution functions per the Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom.

As long as the institution is not accepting any aid or subsidy from the government, the government act of declaring the institution illegal itself is illegal and against the Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. Darul Uloom Deoband established in 1867 has played a pivotal role in providing religious scholars in the freedom struggle and thousands of its products are employed across the country to teach Islam and lead the prayers at mosques.

The illegalisation is not meant to streamline the madrasa functioning but intended to shackle the religious studies of Muslims. This is another step towards the construct of the Hindutva Rashtra that the RSS aims to achieve by 2025, the 100th year of its formation. The Sangh Parivar is gradually gnawing the rights of the minorities, especially Muslims through such acts and deeds targetting to push the communities to the status of the second-class citizens, as defined by the RSS idealogue Golwalkar.

Silence of the non-BJP secular parties on such issues is highly alarming and this silence would ease the alienation efforts of the Sangh Parivar, said Sharfuddin.