Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition I ' assumed office at the Centre in India, there has been a spate of attacks on Muslim madrasas (religious schools), mosques and dargahs, in various parts of the country. Senior Hindutva leaders, within and outside the government, have issued statements alleging that the Pakistan secret service agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has infiltrated numerous madrasas all over the country, particularly in districts along the country's borders with Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. A detailed report of the Indian intelligence agencies claims that some of these madrasas are training grounds for 1St spies and anti-Indian 'terrorists'. The report goes on to suggest that the muftis, maulvis and imams in these religious schools may have been replaced by what it calls "highly fanatic agents of ISI", secretly working for the break-up of India. In May 2001, a ministerial group for the "reform of internal security" headed by Home Minister L.K. Advani, released a 137-page report that recommended, among other things, a close scrutiny of madrasas.
There is some evidence that the political rhetoric and high level recommendations are actually being translated into practice by the executive organs of the state. A recent report published in the Delhi-based Muslim fortnightly, Milli Gazette, quotes what it calls "a mischievous circular" issued by the Uttar Pradesh government that suggests that Hindutva elements are seriously preparing the ground for a "communal civil war" in the state. The circular, signed by Senior Superintendent of Police, Lucknow, BB Bakhshi, has been issued to the state police as a guideline on how to keep a vigil on "NI activities". The circular says that 1St is "leaving no stone unturned" to disrupt life in the state, and is luring Muslim and Sikh youth "to involve them in subversive activities", besides also fanning anti-Hindu sentiments. The circular, reports the Milli Gazette, instructs the Station House Officer of every police station to "prepare a register of Muslim and Sikh families living in his respective area". In particular, a list of newly constructed madrasas and mosques should be kept and these are to be closely monitored.
Predictably, Muslim organisations have been quick to register their protest. The Milli Gazette, which sent a team to inspect several of the madrasas along the Nepal- India border being monitored by the police, reported that none of the dozen Muslim seminaries that the team visited had any association whatsoever with the [Si. In not one of these madrasas was any sort of physical instruction, leave alone military training, being imparted. The report adds that these madrasas have no 4 history of provoking Hindu-Muslim conflict. In fact, one of them had several Hindu students and teachers on its rolls, while another had several regular Hindu donors. Official sources have so far failed to name the madrasas involved in Ni activities. Politicians, like the former UP chief minister, Ram Prakash Gupta, have not come out with anything concrete. The state's Director General of Police (DGP), Sriram Arun, while asserting that the ISI was active along the Indo-Nepal border, is said to have denied that madrasas were being used as hideouts. Likewise, the DGP of Rajasthan admitted that madrasas near the border areas are "neither centres of 1ST nor have they ever participated till date in any anti-national activities". Clearly, the madrasas are being made to bear the brunt of a propaganda exercise.
There are several thousand Islamic schools spread all across India. Most mosques have a primary religious school or maktab attached to them, where Muslim children learn the Qur'an and the basics of their faith. For children who desire to specialise in religious studies and train as imams and maulvis, numerous large seminaries or madrasas exist, with each Muslim sect having its own chain of such institutions. For many poor families, madrasas are the only source of education for their children, since they charge no fees and provide free boarding and lodging to their students. Given what is said to be the dismal level of Muslim access to education, and the marked anti-Muslim bias that has been incorporated into the curricula of government schools, madrasas are often . the only available educational option for children from poor Muslim families. Madrasas have thus been playing an important role in promoting literacy among the Muslims, who have the dubious distinction of being, along with Dalits, the least educated community in India.