Beyond the Madrasa: Muslim Communities and Educational Institutes in India Today

273 Pages·2022·10.101 MB·English

by  Nilanjana Gupta

Beyond the Madrasa
This book looks at madrasas and educational institutions run by Muslim
communities in India focusing on the history, social relevance and importance
of these institutions. It provides a sensitive and in-depth analysis of the push
and pull of tradition, religiosity and modernity within these establishments.
The book studies several institutions in Kozhikode, Surat, Mumbai,
Hyderabad, Barak Valley in Assam, Ladakh, Delhi and several cities in Uttar
Pradesh and examines new initiatives, curricula, models of education and
professional training being offered. It contextualises educational reforms
in madrasas in response to changing policies and larger socio-economic
realities in contemporary India. It also interrogates stereotypes associated
with Islam and madrasa education, paying particular attention to their
syllabi and desired outcomes. This book also looks at the roles and positions
of women in these institutions. Emphasising the long and complex history
of Muslim communities and madrasas, the book showcases the remarkable
diversity of approaches and pedagogical practices which combine deeni and
duniyadi education across India today.
This book will be of interest to students and researchers of the history of
education, religious education, comparative education and sociology. It will
also be useful to people working with NGOs and policymakers in the field
of educational reform and planning.
Nilanjana Gupta has retired as Professor in the Department of English and
School of Media Communication and Culture at Jadavpur University, India.

Beyond the Madrasa
Muslim Communities and Educational
Institutes in India Today
Nilanjana Gupta
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2023 Nilanjana Gupta
The right of Nilanjana Gupta to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-07753-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-13331-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-22871-4 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003228714
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgements x
1 Introducing the Issues 1
2 Calicut, the City of Spices: Education and Reform 22
3 Surat, The City of Diamonds: Global Centre of the
Dawoodi Bohras 48
4 Mumbai, the Mega Melting Pot: Diversity,
Development and Philanthropy 67
5 Barak Valley: Negotiating Language, Religion,
Identity and Education in Assam 87
6 Madrasa Boards in Bihar and Jharkhand: Reformers
and Their Lost Legacies 110
7 Hyderabad, the City of Pearls: Sufis, Shias and Beyond 131
8 From a Paradise Lost to a Paradise Regained?:
Combining Education and Religion in Ladakh 154
9 Lucknow and Aligarh: The Dialectic of Reform 182
vi Contents
10 Delhi: Educational Capital in the Political Capital 213
11 Reforms Old and New: From Reclusive Piety
to Beautiful Behaviour 234
Bibliography 247
Index 256
Figures
2.1 Religious classes in Kozhikode under SKJU 32
2.2 The main teaching block of the Darul Huda University, Kerala 42
2.3 Cheramun Masjid now 44
3.1 Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah at Surat 55
3.2 Handicraft classes 57
3.3 Principal, Madresah Taiyebiyah Society School 58
4.1 Aljamea Campus in Mumbai 72
4.2 The Darul Uloom Mehboob E Subhani, Kurla West, Mumbai 76
4.3 Author interacting with the students at MMERC 82
5.1 Deorail Title Madrasa 99
5.2 Rangia Arabic College 101
5.3 Examination in progress at Mohimari Senior Madrasa 103
5.4 Taparpathar Senior Madrasa 104
6.1 List of Donors, Madrasa Islamia 127
6.2 Madrasa Islamia today 128
7.1 The tomb of Moulana Hafiz Mohammed Anwaarullah
Farooqui Fazeelath Jung inside the campus of Jamia Nizamia 134
7.2 Co-education in Qutb Shahi Dynasty 136
7.3 Page reproduced from the Almanac for 2016–7 for MESCO
schools 145
8.1a & 8.1b Burial sites of Bulbul Shah and Rinchan side by
side in Srinagar 157
8.2a & 8.2b The colourful and vibrant Shah Hamadani
Mosque and a close-up of the ties of cloth with which
devotees ask for the holy man’s intercession to solve
their problems 158
8.3 Shah Hamdan Historical Mosque, Shey, established in 1382 160
8.4 Tiffin time in Kindergarten Class in Islamia Public High
School, Leh 168
8.5 Principal of the Junior School, Islamia Public High School
who showed us around 169
viii Figures
8.6a & 8.6b Independence Day 2018 at Turtuk High School
with families as audience 171
8.7 Students showing us their work at a tiny Government
Primary School in Garadi-Turtuk in the Nubra Valley 172
8.8 Girls with Mutahhary Public School Headscarves playing
kho-kho watched by their classmates in Kargil 175
8.9 Principal, Jamia Fatima Zahra, Kargil 177
8.10 Sheikh Nazir ul Mehdi Mohammadi 178
9.1 Nadwatul Ulama 186
9.2 The main hostel at Mazahir ul Uloom 194
9.3 Sultanul Madaris 196
9.4 Unity College Campus 198
9.5 Class visit at Eram Unani College, Lucknow 201
9.6 Campus Swimming Pool at AMU 204
9.7a & 9.7b Madrasa classes at Moradabad 207
Tables
2.1 Percentage of population according to religion in Kerala
in 2011 22
2.2 Correspondence between Arabic and Malayali alphabets 26
2.3 Development of school education in Travancore, Cochin
and Malabar in 1890/91 28
2.4 Schools and pupils by management in Travancore–Cochin
and Malabar in 1957 29
2.5 Gender-wise enrolment figures in higher education in Kerala
(2017–18) 37
3.1 Literacy rates in Surat in 2001 and 2011 63
3.2 Dropout rates in India & Gujarat in 2018 64
5.1 Percentage of Population according to religion in Assam
in 2011 88
5.2 Number of boys and girls in private schools in Assam
in 1907 and 1908 94
5.3 Number of institutions before and after the Assam
Madrassa Education (Provincialisation) Act 96
5.4 Number of students appearing for examinations conducted
by the Assam Provincial Madrassa Education Board 2010–13 96
6.1 Numbers of types of schools in the District of South
Behar, 1868 112
6.2 Numbers of types of schools in District of Tirhoot, 1868 112
7.1 Number of Madrasas and number of students and Vidya
Volunteers supported by Telangana Sarva Shikha Report
2015–16 150
8.1 Literacy rates in communities according to religion
in J&K in 2001 162
8.2 Comparison of per capita income: Ladakh in 1993 173
8.3 Comparison of literacy rates: Ladakh in 2001 and 2011 173