Uttar Pradesh: New dress code for madrasa students

The Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath has proposed a new dress code for madrasa students. Clearly, the move is aimed at doing away with traditional dresses of Muslim children at madrasas. He, however, did not make it clear that the skull cap and Hijab will also be withdrawn in the name of the new dress code. However, PTI reports that, the state government is yet to disclose the new dress code it is contemplating, but said it might also fund it.

State Minister for Muslim Waqf and Haj Mohsin Raza said the Uttar Pradesh government is aiming to bring madrasas at part with other educational institutions in every sense.

“The aim of the U.P. government is to bring madrasas on a par with other educational institutions in every sense. Till now, students in madrasas have been wearing ‘kurta-pyjamas’ but now this dress code will make it more formal… We might also try to meet the expenses,” said State Minister for Muslim Waqf and Haj Mohsin Raza on 4 July, 2018.

“Till now, students in madrasas wear white kurta-pyjama, which reflects a particular faith. We will very soon propose a new dress code for them,” the Minister said. He refused to elaborate on the new dress code. “Our intentions are clear as we work with transparency and believe in ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’,” he said.

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Mr. Raza also said the current dressing style of madrasa students reflects a clear demarcation between them and the students of other schools which will come to an end now.

The steps were intended to make madrassa students more competitive by providing them contemporary and quality education, said Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma then.

The decision was approved by the state cabinet in May this year.

“Our intentions are absolutely clear as we work with transparency and believe in sabka saath, sabka vikas”, Mr. Raza said while adding that Prime Minister wanted to integrate the Muslim society with the country’s mainstream with a Quran in one hand and a laptop in the other. He claimed that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the biggest secular and pro-Muslim leader in the country. “He keeps a beard and that’s the biggest proof that he is one of the biggest sympathizers of Musim community in the country,’ he pointed.

“Madrasa students are already availing religious education, we are not going to hamper it, we are only going to impart them social education to integrate them with the country’s mainstream and help them go to the IIMs or the IITs and clear competitive examinations,” he said.