
UP madrassa reforms on pause as panel seeks 3-month extension for report
It is led by the Director of the Minority Welfare Department.The job is wide-ranging. They have to look at everything from updating the syllabus for classes 9 to 12, to setting new standards for recruiting and training teachers.VOICES OF CAUTION AS UP PUSHES AHEAD WITH MADRASSA REFORMS The committee is also expected to make recommendations on how to align madrassa education with current subject needs, offer bridge courses, and reshape recognition criteria.The findings will be used to amend the 2004 Uttar Pradesh Madrassa Education Act and related regulations framed in 2016.Minister of State for Minority Welfare Danish Azad Ansari said the idea is to equip Muslim children for a changing world. But some in the madrassa community aren't convinced.Maulana Kaab Rashidi, Legal Advisor to Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (AM), questioned why no madrassa representatives are on the committee.He said many madrassas already offer modern education and their students have made it to top institutions like IITs.Diwan Sahab Zaman Khan, who represents madrassa teachers, added that the reforms must not disturb religious teachings. He warned against overwhelming students with too many subjects and noted that even six months may not be enough to do the job properly.Currently, Uttar Pradesh has about 25,000 madrassas. Around 13,000 are officially recognised, but only 561 receive government aid.This reform is the latest in a series of steps by the Yogi Adityanath government since 2017 to regulate and modernise the system.(WITH INPUTS FROM PTI)- Ends
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India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
26/11 plotter Tahawwur Rana exposes Pakistan Army's terror links
The Election Commission's special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar has sparked controversy, with opposition parties filing petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the move. The revision requires voters added since 2003 to submit proof of date and place of birth, effectively their citizenship. Opposition parties claim this targets poor, Dalit and Muslim voters and could lead to disenfranchisement. The EC maintains the revision is working smoothly, with 2.88 crore forms collected covering 37% of Bihar's voters. However, ground reports show many citizens struggling to provide the required documents. Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa says while roll purification is legitimate, the timing and new procedures raise questions. The Supreme Court will hear the petitions on Thursday. Concerns have been raised about the Election Commission of India's voter registration drive. A former Election Commissioner states there are practical and conceptual issues that need clarification, such as the acceptance criteria for enumeration forms and required documents. He calls for establishing open and credible channels of communication to address doubts, though stops short of saying the EC faces a crisis. The discussion also touches on allegations by some politicians that the EC is acting as a rubber stamp for the government, which the former official suggests should not be assumed without evidence.


The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
A step away from transparency
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced some new rules and revisions, including a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar before the Assembly polls. This exercise will then take place across the country. In Bihar, the SIR exercise, aimed at removing duplicate entries in electoral rolls, started on June 25. It uses the 2003 electoral rolls as the base. The process includes door-to-door verification and new documentation requirements. The ECI aims to publish the final voters' list by September 30. As part of the process, voters listed in the 2003 electoral rolls — the last time that an intensive revision was done in Bihar — do not have to submit documents unless they are asked. However, those who were not on the rolls in 2003 and new applicants will have to provide proof of date and/or proof of place of birth of self if they were born before July 1, 1987; proof of date and/or proof of place of birth of self and of one parent if they were born between July 1, 1987 and December 2, 2004; and proof of date and/or proof of place of birth of self and both parents if they were born after December 2, 2004. On the surface, this seems aligned with the ECI's broader goal of cleaning the electoral rolls and eliminating ghost voters from the voters' list and ensuring that only eligible Indian citizens exercise their franchise, which is fundamental to a free and fair democratic process. However, there are several concerns. First, many individuals/families from poor, Dalit, Muslim, tribal, and migrant communities often lack formal birth certificates. Second, many others will struggle to produce documents for verifying their parents' place of birth, largely due to historical gaps in State documentation. Third, there may be lack of awareness and clarity around the new requirements. Many voters, especially in rural areas, may not fully understand which documents are needed, how to fill out forms, or where and when to submit them. With limited public outreach, complex paperwork required, and a tight timeline leading up to the final publication of the electoral rolls by September 30, there is a high risk of confusion, errors, and unintentional exclusions, particularly of those already on the margins of the system. Fourth, the process relies heavily on field-level officials (booth level officers and electoral registration officers), who hold discretionary power. While the framework allows for claims, objections, and appeals, the initial verification and decision-making are in the hands of local officers. This may lead to inconsistencies, delays, or biased judgment, especially in areas with limited oversight. Fifth, the ECI has neither committed to publishing the list of names being removed from the electoral rolls, nor has it provided a clear, accessible system for applicants to track the status of their submissions. This makes it difficult for citizens, civil society, and the media to monitor the process, identify errors, or challenge wrongful exclusions, raising serious questions about accountability. The Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) post-poll survey of the National Election Study 2024 revealed a concerning trend. When respondents were asked whether they trust the ECI, 12% reported 'not much' and 7% reported 'no trust at all'. In this atmosphere of suspicion, the ECI has now published a circular directing that all photos, videos, CCTV footage, and webcasts from polling stations be deleted within 45 days of the election results, unless an election petition is filed within that period. Earlier, footage and photos were retained for three months to one year, depending on the stage of polling. This new measure not only limits the time to scrutinise the material, but also shuts off avenues for transparency that existed earlier. While steps such as the EPIC clean up and voter turnout upgrade suggest that the ECI is pushing for efficiency, actions such as deleting polling station footage prematurely, implementing new documentation rules without sufficient public awareness, and failing to disclose names removed from electoral rolls contribute to the prevailing atmosphere of uncertainty and suspicion. At a time when public trust in institutions is under strain, the ECI cannot afford to be so opaque. Krishangi Sinha is a Researcher with Lokniti-CSDS; Sanjay Kumar is Co-Director of Lokniti, and Professor at CSDS. Views are personal


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Opposition united in SC on SIR: 'Will snatch votes of lakhs'
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear challenges by Congress and and 10 other opposition parties, including DMK and NCP (Sharad Pawar), to the 's decision for special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Appearing before a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, senior advocates Kapil Sibal, A M Singhvi and Gopal Sankarnarayanan pleaded to the court to grant an urgent hearing as the revision process had already started and lakhs would be disenfranchised if the exercise was not stayed. They said the squeezed timeline fixed by the EC was impractical and it was impossible to complete the process in such a short span of time. After a brief hearing, the apex court agreed to examine their plea and posted it for Thursday (July 10). are likely to be held in November. The petitions have been filed on behalf of Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), CPI, CPM, CPI (ML), DMK, SP, Shiv Sena (UBT), JMM and RJD. Besides, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, NGOs - Association for Democratic Reforms and People's Union for Civil Liberties - and a few residents of Bihar have also filed petitions against the EC's drive. The petitioners took the identical stand that the timeline fixed by EC was not practical and would lead to disenfranchisement of lakhs of voters, particularly migrant workers and people from marginalised communities who do not have requisite documents and may not be able to procure it within the short span fixed by EC. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal posted on X: 'It (SIR) has wreaked havoc across villages and towns of Bihar — giving crores of voters anxiety about whether their right to vote will be stolen. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This is mass-scale rigging and mischief being carried out by EC, under instructions from ruling regime.' RJD MP Manoj Jha sought direction to EC to conduct the forthcoming polls in Bihar on the basis of the existing electoral rolls. Though at present SIR is confined to Bihar, parties apprehend that it could be replicated in other states too. Moitra urged SC to restrain EC for undertaking such an exercise. 'The impugned order is discriminatory, unreasonable and manifestly arbitrary and violates Articles 14, 21, 325 and 326. The order is a tool of institutionalised disenfranchisement. It is submitted that it is being used to justify aggressive and opaque revisions of electoral rolls that disproportionately target Muslim, Dalit and poor migrant communities, as such, they are not random patterns but it is engineered exclusions. The present SIR process is not only hasty and ill-timed, but has the effect of disenfranchising crores of voters, thereby robbing them of their constitutional right to vote. Moreover, this exercise has been launched during monsoon season in Bihar, when many districts are affected by floods and local population is displaced, thereby making it difficult and almost impossible for a large section of population to meaningfully participate in the process,' Jha said in his plea. Seeking the court's direction to set aside the EC's order, Moitra in her petition, filed through advocate Neha Rathi, submitted that the order unlawfully shifted the burden of proving eligibility from the state to the individual elector and arbitrarily excludes commonly accepted identity documents such as Aadhaar and ration cards. PUCL, in its petition through advocate Talha Abdul Rahman, questioned EC's timing, alleging Bihar's massive migrant population faces systematic exclusion as workers lacking local address proofs struggle with complex procedures from distant locations, possibly missing compressed timelines due to work commitments.