Since 9/11 2001, it started being propagated that Madrassas are the training dens for terrorists. This went on becoming part of social psyche. This has added to the prevalent communal propaganda against Muslims. Recently in a (October 2009) meeting of EKAL school teachers, Mohan Bhagawat, the RSS Sarsanghchalak, while speaking to the teachers of EKAL schools (single teacher schools set up by RSS affiliates, mainly in Adivasi areas), said that Madrassas are the breeding ground for terrorism. He also contrasted Madrassas with the work of EKAL schools. As per him EKAL schools are contributing to the cause of nation building, teaching humanity, by inculcating moral values.
This is not only a sweeping statement but is far from truth. One can say the statement about Madrassas is based on half truth while the one about EKAL schools has nothing to do with truth at all.
One concedes that some Madrassas were set up in Pakistan by US through CIA, to indoctrinate a section of Muslim youth into terrorism. These Madrassas were funded by US and the syllabus used in these was created in Washington. This syllabus was aimed to indoctrinate the youth to take up arms against the Russian army occupying Afghanistan in the late 1970s. This syllabus was so designed that the core words of Koran were distorted and hate was manufactured against non Muslims, to begin with against Russian communists. The meaning of the word Jihad, which in Koran stands for striving, to struggle to over one’s own evils and struggle against the evils in society, was reduced to the word war. The word Kafir, which was used for the non-believers in Islam attacking Muslims, was changed to mean all those not believing in Allah. This was a ploy to ‘use’ Muslim youth for US war against Russians during the cold was era. From these indoctrinated youth, Taliban, Al Qaeda was organized with Osama bin Laden in the lead, funded heavily to join the anti-Russian forces, to control the oil rich zone, the central goal of US during that era. As matters turned out the same Al Qaeda, after the Russian army was defeated, turned its guns-bombs against US and others, including India. Currently Pakistan herself is the biggest victim of Al Qaeda terrorism as they cannot tolerate the struggle of democracy to root itself in Pakistan. One such place where the trainees were becoming uncomfortable for the rulers of Pakistan, Lal Masjid was attacked by Pakistan army, a couple of years ago.
Barring these few terror centers, the concept of Madrassa as such is meant for teaching Koran and Fiqh (Jurisprudence), which will be different according to the sect of Islam, in each Madrassa. In India there are types and types of Madrassa’s. Mostly these are the places where poor Muslim children, who cannot afford the modern education, are sent for some learning. Nearly 4% of Muslim children are studying in these places. They mainly teach Koran, they also train the children to become Maulanas, the tribe most poorly paid for all their labor. There has been no case of terrorist being trained in these places. There are efforts by various social organizations to modernize them so that the children can come up to get modern jobs in the society. Recently it has been observed that many a Muslims in rehabilitation colonies have been trying to send their children to modern schools, but as there is a total neglect from the state they have no option but to continue with these schools. The need to introduce modern teaching, science, English, computers and all whatever can give jobs to the children is a crying need of the hour. And this is something not being addressed by the state and society as a whole, depriving a large section of Muslim children from the education which should make them come to the spaces of decent livelihood and employment. It is also needed that the misconceptions about madrassa’s deliberately spread by political forces are countered by social auditing of the Madrassas. People form their perceptions on hearsay, while a visit to Madrassa, an observation of what is going on, going through their syllabus should make it clear that these are the neglected places of learning needing our urgent attention, miles away from anything which smacks or training children into terrorism.
About EKAL schools and other RSS run educational institutions the least said the better. Number of scholars and activists has studied their curriculum. These report point out that EKAL schools and other RSS run educational institutions are teaching history and social sciences to suit the agenda of Hindu nation. These include projecting Muslims and Christians as foreigners, glorifying caste system, spreading hate against minorities. In their curriculum the communal historiography as introduced by British, to implement the policy of divide and rule, to demonize the Muslim kings is, the fulcrum around which the curriculum revolves.
EKAL schools are primarily set up in tribal areas. They indoctrinate the children against minorities. Christian Missionaries working in the Adivasis areas are targeted as their work in the area of education and health is empowering Adivasis and that is the cause of concern to the elites-affluent people who form the power base of RSS. The Christian missionary activities may be there for over a century, but the violence in these areas has begun from last two decades in particular. The Ekal schools have been set up precisely a decade or so earlier to the beginning of the violence in these areas. So what is the correlation? Interestingly the terrorists of the ilk of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, (Malegaon blast) Bajrang Dal workers who got killed in Nanded while making bombs and others involved in bomb blast in Thane-Panvel and Goa etc. all derive their inspiration from the indoctrination module dished out in its shakhas (branch) and schools.
Is it not time we modernize Madarsa’s and do the auditing of the curriculum of Madrassas and Ekal schools both? Let the values of Constitution be the judge and the guiding factor for evaluating the curricula in all the schools and educational system in the country.
Ram Puniyani
ram.puniyani@gmail.com