When one tries to find out about unaffiliated Madrasahs in India, one organisation’s name will come up, that is ‘Darul Uloom Deoband’. The evolution of the Madrasah education system in India and the Indian subcontinent has been influenced by various historical and socio-political factors. A significant change occurred in the educational landscape after 1857 when British rule took over. The Deoband Madrasah’s independence from government funding and its distinctive academic culture further shaped the Madrasah system. There are 70 to 800 thousand unrecognized madrasahs in the country with around 1 crore 10 lakh children. Though the deceitful Sachar Committee Report very cleverly excludes thousands of Deobandi madrasahs in the country, Darul Uloom Deoband thrives to become the cradle of Fedayeen Mujahedeen. Apparently a terrorist organisation ‘The Taliban’ traces its origin from there, and so does the notorious Tablighi Jamaat. While Madrasas in India have the authority via Darul Ifta, another organisation among many prominent others that originated from Darul Uloom Deoband to issue fatwas based on demand, the Right to Education Act aims to improve educational coverage across the country, addressing the deprivation of fundamental rights to education, especially for children living in poor conditions in Madrasa orphanages.
About The Speaker:
Present post of Priyank Kanoongo is Chairman, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Government of India. He is continuously working for the effective implementation of the mandate received under the Commission’s Right to Education Act, Juvenile Justice Act, POCSO Act, and Child Labor Act. In this context, under his guidance, the Commission is organizing consultations with the stakeholders, workshops, and other awareness programs across the country and regularly inspecting the institutions related to children. Along with this, many important studies related to children are also being done. With the aim of ensuring that every child gets his constitutional and statutory rights, he is constantly moving towards realizing the concept of a child-friendly society.
