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| States and Union Territories instructed to be vigilant | | Dangerous elements' infiltration into J&K madrassas | |
NEW DELHI, JULY 7
The government of India does not want States and Union Territories to ignore 'infiltration' of extremists into a number of madrassas, particularly in border areas of the country. In this conection, a pointed reference has been made to Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
A mesage has just gone out from Delhi's power corridors cautioning administrations in States and Union Territories against the emerging threat from the 'infiltration' of potentially dangerous elements into a number of madrassas across the country. The message asumes importance in the context of radio intercepts in relation to 'subtle' contact a number of Islamist hardliners in Pakistan have developed with a set of Islamist radicals on this side of the India-Pakistan border.
The message also assumes signifcance in light of intelligence reports fed to the government of India with regard to "unwarranted" activity and manipulations in quite a number of madrassas in the country. According to intelligence reports, several madrassas in Jammu and Kashmir, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu "do not generate positive and encouraging signals for quite some time now".
Official agencies are said to be worried on account of the sharp rise in students of Deobandi sect seminaries on the other side of the border--in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). A highly sensational piece of information has poured in from across the border: At least 88 seminaries belonging to various sects are imparting religious education to more than 16,000 students in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad alone. A research carried out by the private bureau of investigation shows that the number of students of the Deobandi seminaries, including the Jamia Hafsa and the Jamia Faridia, doubled during the last one year.
The figures have been collected from Pakistani government agencies, which would not like to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. In 2005-06, 5,039 religious students from Islamabad's Deobandi seminaries took exams conducted by Wafaqul Madaris Al Arabia (WMA), the central examination board of the Deobandi sect. About 3,000 of them were from the Jamia Hafsa, the madrassa for women attached to Lal Masjid, and Jamia Faridia, that for men associated with that masjid.
But these two seminaries, according to inputs fed to the government of India, hold 10,700 students, showing a 100 per cent increase in their number in just one year. The reason for this big surge in the number of students is still not known to the Pak government. A comparative research based on the figures available with the Bureau of Investigation about the number of students who appeared in the 2005-06 exams holds more surprises.
A total of 5,093 students (male and female) appeared in different seminary examinations in Islamabad. Of them, 4,653 students appeared in examinations for degrees equivalent to matriculation, intermediate, graduation and post-graduation. The rest of them were for Hifz-e-Qur'aan only. The present number of 10,700 seminary students in the "modern and progressive" Islamabad is almost equal to the combined strength of the seminary students from Balochistan (6,374) and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (2,835). Moreover, the total number of students from the Jamia Hafsa and the Jamia Faridia (5,000) falls short of total seminary students of Balochistan by only 1,335 students.
A comparison with seminaries of other sects shows that the number of students, who have been studying in the Jamia Hafsa and the Jamia Faridia (Deobandi) is, again, equal to the total number of students (5,400 students), studying in all the 74 seminaries, belonging to all the other sects; Barelvi (3,000 students in 46 seminaries), Ahle-Hadith (200 students in two seminaries), Shia (700 students in eight seminaries) and Jamaat-e-Islami-led Rabitaul Madaris (1,500 students in 18 seminaries) in Islamabad.
The Jamia Hafsa has the highest number of teachers: 158, a strength matching that of the big institution imparting liberal education. The research also shows that Deobandi seminaries grew at a much faster pace in Islamabad during the period of elected governments.
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