Supreme Court response: ‘Inappropriate content’ of Madrasa courses, criticizes fatwas on Darul Uloom Deoband website

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has moved the Supreme Court to denounce the “inappropriate content” of Darul Uloom Deoband, an academic institution for Islamic education that has madrasas across South Asia as its members. The NCPCR said it came across various objectionable content on the website of Darul-Uloom-Deoband, where one of the fatwas was issued on physical relationship with a minor girl. This was not only misleading but also violated the provisions of the POCSO Act, 2012.
The child protection organization told the court that some of this objectionable content was allegedly taught in the madrasas.

The affidavit was filed in the Supreme Court in connection with a plea challenging the Allahabad High Court's March 22 verdict striking down the UP Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004.

The affidavit states that the Madrasa Board is depriving the children of their fundamental rights by imparting only religious and Islamic education to them. In support of this, the NCPCR told the court that the education imparted to the children in Madrasas is not comprehensive and therefore violates the provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009.

According to NCPCR, Darul Uloom Deoband has issued fatwas that expose children to hatred against their own country and ultimately inflict unnecessary mental and physical suffering on them.

“Another fatwa was issued on the website of Darul Uloom Deoband in which a person from Pakistan asked a question regarding suicide attacks on non-Muslim forces. Darul Uloom Deoband responded to this by saying 'Consult your local scholar' instead of answering that the question was invalid or illegal in nature… Such statements by Darul Uloom Deoband reinforce the belief of legitimizing deliberate killing and terrorist attacks among non-Muslims and are also highly terrorizing for the country and a matter of national security,” the affidavit said.

It also informed the Supreme Court that it had taken note of another objectionable content on the website of Darul Uloom Deoband, a fatwa which spoke of the “invasion of India (Ghazwa-e-Hind)” and that anyone who loses his life in such a mission would be considered a “great martyr”.

“In this context, I would like to humbly point out that Darul Uloom Deoband, an academic institution for Islamic education with affiliated madrasas across South Asia, has issued fatwas that expose children to hatred against their own country and ultimately inflict unnecessary mental and physical suffering on them,” the affidavit states.

Complaints received against Darul Uloom Deoband Website content: NCPCR

NCPCR submitted to the Supreme Court that it had received complaints regarding fatwas issued by Darul Uloom Deoband which contained references to a book titled ‘Bahishti Zewar’.

“It is pertinent to mention here that the said book contains content that is not only inappropriate but also offensive and illegal with regard to children as it contains texts about sexual relations with minors. The book is also intended to be taught to children in madrasas and other fatwas containing such offensive information are available to all,” the affidavit said.

The Supreme Court was further informed that though the Darul Uloom Deoband Madrasa was established in Deoband in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, it has an influence on people professing Islamic culture and practices across the country and in many countries abroad.

The NCPCR also said it had taken note of a newspaper report about the recovery of a minor boy after eight years with a changed name and a different religion.

“The minor boy was found at an Adhaar Card centre where he was sent to change his name in Adhaar Card from Rahul to Mohammad Azhar (name changed to protect the identity of the minor). To further investigate the matter, a team of the Commission visited the Madrasa in Uttar Pradesh district which the child was attending after he went missing eight years ago. According to the information provided by the District Minority Welfare Office, Uttar Pradesh, the said Madrasa was recognised. The Commission said that after going through various complaints received by the Commission from various sources, it was found that children of non-Muslim communities are attending government funded/recognised Madrasas and receiving religious education and instruction there.”

While examining the replies of the scholars, the Commission found that the children were being imparted an education based solely on religious scriptures. Accusing Darul Uloom Deoband of denying children a fundamental right protected under the RTE Act, 2009, the NCPCR told the Supreme Court that madrasa students were being deprived of the facilities and rights enjoyed by students of a regular school.

Complaint against Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Open School

The NCPCR affidavit also contained a response to a complaint regarding an open school run by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind with the support of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).

“After examining the details provided, the Commission has found that the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has set up the Jamiat Open School on the lines of NIOS for madrasa students to provide them with 'conventional' education. However, based on the document available on the Jamait Open School website, it was observed that 'In the private madrasa system, any attempt to change the syllabi or curriculum or any interference by the government in the name of so-called modernisation is considered as downgrading their religious standard of education or diverting their attention and disturbing their moral upbringing,'” the affidavit said.

The Commission stated that these conditions, which prevent a child from professing a religion other than Islam, would be a violation of Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015.

“The fundamental rights of children are not only being violated through grants but the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (JJ Act 2015) is also being flouted. Any provision which deprives children from the benefits of the right to education is to be considered as a violation of the spirit of the constitutional principles by which the people have adopted the Constitution for ourselves. It is also submitted that protection of the right to education of children is of paramount importance as it has found its place in Article 21 of the Constitution of India and therefore it is necessary that all children up to the age of 14 years should be provided with formal schooling as prescribed by the Constitution and States are required to provide such schooling where children up to Class 5 should attend school for 4 hours and children from Class 6 to Class 8 should attend school for 6 hours. Therefore, any violation of the said provisions is not only against the welfare of children but also against our constitutional ethos and principles,” the affidavit said.

In April, the Supreme Court had stayed the Allahabad High Court's verdict striking down the Madrasa Act as unconstitutional on the grounds that it would affect nearly 1.7 million students. The Supreme Court will soon resume hearing arguments in the case.