The already boiling communal cauldron has turned hotter in India. Ironically, the divisiveness along religious lines is “constitutional and judicial” in hues. Ever since the run-up to the 2024 parliamentary elections started to build up two months ago, a series of court judgments and constitutional steps promulgated by the BJP-led central and state governments have ensured that the minority Muslim community would be marginalized, leading to polarization that would favor the ruling party.
Courts have allowed archeological surveys to ‘discover’ relics of destroyed temples in prominent mosques. Some historical mosques and seminary compounds have been razed, even in the heart of the capital Delhi. The controversial Uniform Civil Code, that abolishes Muslim personal laws, has been introduced in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand and the central government plans to implement it on a national level. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been implemented with notification of its rules to grant citizenship to Hindus and others, minus Muslims, who had sought asylum or crossed over to India due to persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The Supreme Court verdict on the minority status of the historical Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has been reserved and speculations are it might be pronounced any time before or during the election.
Courts have allowed archeological surveys to ‘discover’ relics of destroyed temples in prominent mosques. Some historical mosques and seminary compounds have been razed, even in the heart of the capital Delhi.
Making Madrasas ‘Unconstitutional’
The latest is the rendering of the UP Board of Madrasa Education Act, 2004, as “unconstitutional” by the Allahabad High Court. The court, in its verdict on March 22, found the Act “violative of the secular values” of the state, and thus endangering the future of more than 10,000 madrasas, over 13 lakhs students and over 10,200 teachers and other staff with one stroke of “judicial bias.”
The government in UP is led by BJP’s hardline leader Yogi Adityanath, who while being the chief executive of the state, also runs Gorakhnath Temple of Gorakhpur city as its chief priest. Interestingly, a CM being a chief priest of a prominent temple and attending office in religious-inspired robes is found fitting, but madrasas endowing education to underprivileged Muslim students as per rules laid down by the state’s education policy has been declared “communal.”
In a double irony, the decision of the court comes after the BJP government had announced to upgrade madrasas and had even conducted their state-wise survey only months back. In addition, the Central government, as part of its program to help madrasa students, runs Bridge Courses for them to become eligible to take admission in mainstream subjects. The verdict will jeopardize this reformative program that even PM Modi and several central ministers have touted as an example of their concern for the Muslim community.
"The anti-Muslim frenzy is electorally productive, and it suits BJP if it is whipped up either by the party itself, or through ‘partisan’ elements in the judiciary.”
Professor Shah Alam, a Mass Communication professor at the IMS Unison University, Dehradun, says that the court judgment is violative of Article 30 that allows all religious minorities to establish institutions of their choice to impart education. “However, the very existence of Article 30 seems under threat now. There are signals the Article may be removed or amended to change its core in future. The anti-Muslim frenzy is electorally productive, and it suits BJP if it is whipped up either by the party itself, or through ‘partisan’ elements in the judiciary,” he said.
Saad Usmani, a senior journalist with Hindi daily Punjab Kesri, agrees that the communal impulses of the government emanate from its design to reap an electoral yield in the upcoming election. He said however, that legal lacunae in the HC verdict would be exposed in the Supreme Court and the verdict might be overturned. But by that time, the election would be over and the ploy would have played its part. The Teachers Association of Madaris Arabiya has announced its decision to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
The Friday Times spoke to several people connected with the madrasa education in India and they were dismayed that the court “misjudged” so grossly and overlooked even the basis of the madrasa education.
Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, the chairman of the UP Madrasa Board, said that the government had constituted the Act to help promote education in languages like Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian. “As per the Act, the boards were established for Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian. The government doesn’t provide financial aid for religious education imparted in the madrasas. It is for keeping languages like Arabic and Persian alive. However, we know that madrasas also teach the Quran and other Arabic books which are mostly religious. Likewise, in the Sanskrit institutes, the Vedas and other religious literature is taught as they are available in Sanskrit language. The basis of the HC decision is thus flawed,” he said.
Dr. Javed added that the government of Yogi Adityanath hadn’t decided to act upon the order immediately. “Our legal team headed by advocate Afzal Siddiqui is vetting all the legal options to appeal in the Supreme Court,” he said.
Renowned Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad said that the HC had termed the education in madrasas religious and thus against the spirit of secularism. “Here lies the loophole in the HC judgment. Religious education is a worldwide phenomenon. In every country of the world, there is provision for it. The government in a secular country has no religion of its own and thus it merely watches over such education and helps in its sustenance. How can such education be communal?” he asked.
Locals from UP informed TFT that madrasa teachers have not been paid their salaries for over a year and the HC order would further erode chances of them getting at least their backlog dues.
When asked to comment on the HC judgment and predicament of the madrasa students and teachers, Danish Azad, the lone Muslim face in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet and holding the portfolio of minority affairs, said that he would abide by any decision taken by his government. “The Yogi government in the state works for the welfare of minorities, we are studying the judgment and will respond after going through judgment carefully after analyzing all the minute aspects before reacting to it,” he said.
Razing and Erasing Mosques
The Gyanvapi Mosque in the historical city of Kashi (Varanasi) has been one of three prime mosques that the Hindu hardline organizations have been claiming were built upon ruins of the demolished temples. Other two are Babri Masjid, demolished in 1992, and now site to the Ram Temple, and the Mathura Shahi Eidgah Masjid. The Gyanvapi is believed to have been erected by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb after destroying a portion of the ancient temple.
Varanasi is home constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and any communal development around the Gyanvapi Mosque will naturally benefit his electoral chances, and that of the BJP countrywide.
On the petition of Hindu women plaintiffs, the local court in Varanasi earlier ordered an Archeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the mosque and after a “Shivling” (statue of Shiva) was found in the survey, it just before the election, on January 30, allowed the Hindu worship at the basement of the mosque.
Varanasi is home constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and any communal development around the Gyanvapi Mosque will naturally benefit his electoral chances, and that of the BJP countrywide.
The historical dispute surrounding Mathura’s Shahi Eidgah mosque adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple has also been reignited with recent developments. On December 14, the Allahabad High Court ordered a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Eidgah mosque premises to assess the historical claims made by both sides.
The Supreme Court however, on January 16, issued a stay on the survey, but the issue continues to burn and engage locals. Actress Hema Malini is an incumbent BJP MP and a candidate in 2024 polls from Mathura. She often takes part in dance programs resurrecting the devotion for Lord Krishna and egging the cause of the temple at Eidgah.
On 30 January, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) -- a federally-run urban planning organization – bulldozed the Akhoondji Mosque, estimated to be at least 600 years old, and its adjoining madrasa in the famous Mehrauli area.
In another prominent case, the ASI on March 22 began its survey of the Bhojshala temple and Kamal Maula mosque complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district. On March 11, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had directed the Archaeological Survey of India to carry out the survey. The court passed the direction on a plea by a group called the Hindu Front for Justice that had claimed that the mosque was constructed by “destroying” Hindu temples.
On 30 January, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) -- a federally-run urban planning organization – bulldozed the Akhoondji Mosque, estimated to be at least 600 years old, and its adjoining madrasa in the famous Mehrauli area. A shrine of a sufi saint (Islamic mystic) located inside the mosque complex was also razed. The mosque, madrasa and shrine were alleged to have encroached upon forest lands.
Besides, authorities have razed a few more historical structures in Mehrauli, including what many believe was the shrine of one of the first Sufi saints in Delhi.
Historians have questioned the logic behind razing centuries-old structures. “Clearly a pattern is emerging and it sets an alarming precedent for a country that treats all religions equally,” said historian Sohail Hashmi.
Milking the Cow for BJP
Mosques and Muslim worship have been targets of the politics of the BJP and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), from the start. The BJP grew to power on the back of a nationwide political campaign centered on the destruction of the Mughal era Babri Masjid. The BJP claimed the mosque, in the small pilgrim town of Ayodhya, was built on the exact site of the birth of the Hindu god Lord Ram. The BJP had grabbed only two seats on its debut in 1984. In 1986, it launched its Ram Temple and Babri Masjid demolition drive, and in 1989, it shot to 85 seats. It has never looked back ever since, and turns to mosque-temple issues to reap easy electoral yields.