Maulana Mahmood Madani of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Welcomes Modi Government's Plan to Link Madrassas With Formal Education

New Delhi, June 12: Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, the largest body representing Muslims in India, on Wednesday welcomed the Modi government's plan to link madrassas with formal education. Maulana Mahmood Madani, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said if the Modi government provides equal opportunities for Muslims especially in education, it would be 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' in true sense.

"For the benefit of the country, all the sections of the society should be provided with equal opportunities, especially in education. We will always welcome such initiatives," Maulana Madani told news agency ANI. He said education is imperative to empower Muslims so that they can contribute more and more in the nation building. 5 Crore Minority Students to Get Scholarships in Next 5 Years: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

"Muslims should have a part in the nation's building and it will only be possible if their capacity building is done, which isn't possible without education. If this isn't just an announcement and will be turned into actions, it's Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas in a true sense," Maulana Madani said. In a bid to outreach to the minorities, the Modi government is working on a slew of projects. Rights of SC/STs, Minorities Absolutely Safe Under Modi Government: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who is tasked to implement this outreach programmes, on Tuesday said that madrassa teachers across the country will be given training from various institutions in mainstream subjects such as Hindi, English, Maths, Science, Computer so that they can impart mainstream education. This programme will be launched next month.

Naqvi said that free-coaching for central and state administrative services, banking services, staff selection commission, railways and other various competitive services will be provided to economically weak students belonging to minority communities - Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and Parsi. The minister said another part of the programme is to encourage girls' education among minorities.

"Girls of minority communities usually drop out early and don't go for higher studies because of social and financial reasons and due to conservativeness. So, we are introducing a scheme 'Padho Aur Badho' (read and grow)," Naqvi said. "Earlier, there was 72 per cent dropout rate among girls of the minorities. That has become 40-42 per cent. We will make it zero per cent in five years," he vowed.

Alleging that the previous governments of the Congress were "dishonest", he said, "the minorities have trust that Modiji's ‘vikas' (development) agenda is not for votes and that we are doing development honestly. When we say development for all, we want it for minorities also. When we say education for all, we mean it for minorities too."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Mody 26 had emphasised on the need to earn the trust of the minorities. "The way the poor have been cheated, minorities have been deceived too. It would have been good if their education and their health had been in the focus, but minorities have been made to live in fear of those who believed in vote bank politics. We have to earn their trust," PM Modi had said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 12, 2019 01:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).