Sanskrit to Be Introduced in Uttarakhand Madrasas: A New Initiative for Holistic Education

Sanskrit education will soon be imparted to children in the madrasas of Uttarakhand. Children will be seen reciting shlokas and mantras in madrasas. The Uttarakhand Madrasa Education Board has taken a big initiative for this. The board has prepared a draft of its formal proposal. Board Chairman Mufti Shamoon Qasmi said that an MoU will soon be signed between the board and the Sanskrit Education Department in this regard.

Mufti Shamoon Qasmi said that Sanskrit will be taught in modern madrasas in the first phase. Qasmi said that both Sanskrit and Arabic are ancient languages. If the Maulvi knows Sanskrit and the Panditji knows Arabic, what could be better than this.

There are more than 416 madrasas in Uttarakhand. Madrasas also come under the Waqf Board. However, most of the madrasas come under the Uttarakhand Madrasa Board. Preparations are now being made to impart Sanskrit education to children in these madrasas. However, this is not the first time. Earlier, the Uttarakhand Waqf Board had also decided that it would impart Sanskrit education to the children and teach them Sanskrit.

Madrasa Board Chairman Qasmi says that Sanskrit teachers will be recruited after getting approval from the government.

Mufti Shamoon Qasmi told news agency 'PTI' that this is being done in accordance with the wish of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to connect madrasa-going children with mainstream education. He said, "Implementing the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) curriculum in the madrasas of the state has given very good results this year and the percentage of children passing has been more than 96. This shows that there is no dearth of talent among the children going to madrasas. If they get a chance, they can prove to be leaders in other subjects including Sanskrit.''

Board Registrar Shahid Shami Siddiqui said that Sanskrit education in madrasas is still only an idea which is awaiting implementation. When asked if a proposal is being prepared by the board in this regard, he said that it has not been brought to his notice yet.

Uttarakhand Waqf Board Chairman Shadab Shams also said that the idea of implementing Sanskrit education in madrasas is good but he wondered what is stopping the Madrasa Board from implementing it. He said, "If they want to do this, they can do it easily. I don't think they will face any problem in getting approval from the state government in this matter."

Shams also said that the idea of modern madrasas came up in the Waqf Board under his chairmanship some time ago. He said, "I think religious education is important, but limiting children to only religious education is playing with their future. It means stifling their potential and closing the path of their future development."