Don't vilify system if few madrassas evade rules: Darul Uloom

Saharanpur (UP): Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband on Sunday said it has no objections to the Uttar Pradesh government's survey of private madrassas but the whole system of such institutions should not be denigrated if a few don't follow rules.

At a conference of representatives from various madrassas here, president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Maulana Arshad Madani said, "The doors of madrassas are always open for all," and that they operate under the country's Constitution.

During the conference, a 12-member steering committee was constituted, whose objectives include helping the madrassa managements during the survey and placing their grievances, if any, before the government.

Talking to reporters after the conference, Madani said he has urged all madrassa managements to cooperate in the survey as they have nothing to hide.

He asked the managements to provide information to the officials and also keep documents such as land papers and audit reports ready, besides ensuring cleanliness in their premises. At the same time, he urged the government not to disregard the entire madrassa system if one or two institutions failed to abide by rules.

On August 31, the Uttar Pradesh government had ordered a survey of all unrecognised private madrassas operating in the state and teams were formed accordingly.