Madrasas in India

Madrasas in India Modernizing Curriculum
Syed Abdul Aziz Shamshoddin, Arab News

JEDDAH, 19 January 2005 — An educational revolution is taking place in India. Increasingly, madrasas that confined themselves to religious education have moved to acquire licenses for technical and medical institutes. The idea is to enable a madrasa student to get to grip with modern education and help him land a job in India’s highly competitive job market.

One such institution is the Jamia Islamia Ishaatul Uloom. Based in Akkalkuwa in rural Maharashtra, it was established by Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Vastanvi and his team of devoted teachers in 1980. In all there are nearly 6000 students in the institutions managed by the Jamia — nearly 4,000 students in Islamic study center and 2,000 in various other institutions. They are staying in a hostel provided by the Jamia.

Jamia Islamia Ishaatul Uloom, Akalkova is an important and significant part of the series of centers of Islamic as well as modern technology education started by Maulana Vastanvi. This institution has been functioning for the last 23 years. It draws students from all over India. The area of its operations covers 16 Indian states.

This institution was started in the form of a small madrasa. Now it has eight different faculties including Islamic Study Center, a medical college, pharmacy college, industrial training center, polytechnic college, D.Ed/P.T.C College and hospital.

So far 1065 students have graduated in different educational fields. Jamia also receives active cooperation of village residents and has established more than 862 Makatabs in 46 districts in different states of India.

The Jamia has a library containing about 45,000 books on various subjects and topics in different languages.

Jamia also undertakes social service activities. In poverty stricken areas, it has provided 765 tube wells and drilled 900 wells in 1665 villages and solved drinking water problems in 33 remote villages.

Madrasas and other educational faculties have no independent or continuous source of income; they are able to function only because of the cooperation and financial assistance from the general public.

The Jamia offers free lodging and boarding including various scholarships to orphans and poor students.

According to Maulana Gulam Mohammad Vastanvi, who commands considerable following in Gujarat and Maharashtra, recent events in the country are not the end of the road for Indian Muslims.

“A large body of secular Hindus in the English media, the judiciary and the government have taken up the case of Indian Muslims,” Maulana who is here to perform Haj, said. “It is now the duty of Muslims to strengthen the hand of these peace-loving Hindus,” he added.