New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) Several Muslim bodies, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, on Saturday alleged that efforts were being made to undermine the status of madrassas in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and demanded that the administration cease such "illegal and oppressive" actions.

A joint statement issued by the Board and Muslim organisations such as the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, said they stand resolute to take all possible legal and democratic actions to change "minority-hostile" policies of the state governments.

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"We, the citizens of the nation, strongly condemn the efforts to undermine the status and identity of madrassas in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and other states through various pretexts.

"We categorically state that the directives issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to state governments concerning minority educational institutions ie madrassas are illegal and beyond the commission's jurisdiction," the statement said.

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Following these directives, the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh has instructed district authorities to survey madrassas and transfer students from "unrecognised" madrassas to government schools, they said.

A list of 8,449 "unrecognised schools" has been published, including renowned and historical institutions such as Darul Uloom Deoband; Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulema, Lucknow; Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur; Jamia Salafia Varanasi; Jamia Ashrafia Mubarakpur; Madrasatul Islah Saraimeer; and Jamia Al-Falah Baleriaganj, besides others, the statement said.

"District magistrates are exerting pressure to transfer students from these institutions to government schools. This circular from the Chief Secretary and the pressure from district authorities are blatantly illegal," it said.

Additionally, the district administration has removed non- Muslim students from these schools and transferred them to government schools, which is an "attack on their personal right to choose and upon our joint Indian culture and civilsation", the joint statement said.

Now, Muslim students are also being pressured to obtain basic education under the Right to Education Act, said the statement signed by AIMPLB chairman Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, vice president of the Board Maulana Asad Madani and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Arshad Madani, among others.

Administrators of these madrassas are being threatened with action in case of non-compliance, the statement said.

In Madhya Pradesh, the government has taken a step further by compelling students in madrassa to perform Saraswati Vandana daily, the statement claimed.

"We, the responsible members of Muslim religious and national organisations, and heads of religious schools and universities, deem it necessary to clarify that under Article 30(1) of the Constitution, minorities have the fundamental right to establish and administer their educational institutions.

"Additionally, the Right to Education Act explicitly exempts religious schools," the statement said.

These institutions provide free, high-quality education to millions of children along with food and accommodation and have been making silent but successful efforts to promote education among the educationally backward Muslim community for years, it said.

These institutions and their graduates have played a significant role in the country's independence and continue to contribute to its development post-independence, the statement said.

The sudden and unilateral actions are an "unwarranted attempt to disrupt this longstanding and stable system", causing educational damage to millions of children and imposing undue mental and psychological pressure on them, it said.

"We demand that the administration of these states cease these illegal, unethical, and oppressive actions and not jeopardise the future of children," the statement said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)