The court’s decision affects huge numbers of Muslim students in India (Reuters)
An Indian court banned Islamic schools in the state of Uttar Pradesh, in a decision that affects 2.7 million students in thousands of schools in this most populous state in the country.
The ruling was issued - yesterday, Friday - ahead of the country's general elections, which the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to win, who is facing a torrent of criticism and accusations, internally and externally, of persecuting Muslims over the years of his rule.
The court said in its decision that religious schools violate the secularism stipulated in the Indian Constitution, and ordered the transfer of students to traditional schools, thereby nullifying a law passed in 2004 regarding the management of religious schools in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, head of the state's religious schools education board, said the court's decision affects 2.7 million students and 10,000 teachers in 25,000 schools. Muslims constitute at least a fifth of the state's population of 240 million people.
Modi is accused of perpetuating policies of persecution of Muslims in India during his years of rule (Getty)
On the other hand, Rakesh Tripathi, spokesman for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh - which runs the state government - said that the government is not against religious schools, but is concerned about the education of Muslim students, as he put it.
He continued, "We are not against any school, but we are against discriminatory practices. We are against illegal financing, and the government will decide to take further measures after reviewing the court order."
India will hold general elections between April and June next.
Muslim activists and human rights organizations accuse leaders and members of the Bharatiya Janata Party of promoting anti-Islamic hate speech and inciting the demolition of mosques and Muslim property.
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters