‘Pakistan Published Books, Terms Like Kafirs, Radical Curriculum In Bihar Madarsas’; NCPCR Chairman Raises Red Flags

Kanoongo also questioned the involvement of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in designing such a curriculum for madrasas.

New Delhi: Priyank Kanoongo, the chairman of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Sunday raised serious concerns over the “radical” curriculum in government-funded madrasas of Bihar and the enrolment of Hindu children in such schools.

Kanoongo also questioned the involvement of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in designing such a curriculum for madrasas, calling it the “height of appeasement by both UNICEF and the Madrasa Board”. He called on the United Nations to investigate these activities and urged that the Madrasa Board be dissolved.

On Sunday, August 18, he posted on X: “In the state of Bihar, Talimul Islam and other similar books are being taught in the government funded Madrasas. In this book, non-Islamics are declared as Kafirs. It has been reported that Hindu children are also being admitted in these madrasas but the Bihar government is not giving official information on the number ratio. Madrasa is not a place for basic education of children in any form, children should study in school and Hindu children should not be in Madrasas at all, Madrasa Board should be dissolved.”

बिहार राज्य में सरकारी फ़ंडिंग से चलने वाले मदरसों में तालिमुल इस्लाम व ऐसी ही अन्य किताबें पढ़ाई जा रहीं हैं,इस किताब में ग़ैर इस्लामिकों को काफ़िर बताया गया है।
इन मदरसों में हिंदू बच्चों को भी दाख़िला दिए जाने की सूचना मिली है परंतु बिहार सरकार संख्या अनुपात की अधिकारिक… pic.twitter.com/vjySGSjxrQ

— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) August 18, 2024

He raised concerns that Hindu children are also reportedly enrolled in these madrasas, but the Bihar government is yet to provide official figures.

On the question of transferring Hindu children from madrasas to regular schools, the Bihar Madrasa Board reportedly stated that the madrasa curriculum was prepared by UNICEF India, Kanoongo said in his post and condemned it, saying it was the “height of appeasement” by both the bodies.

“It is not the UNICEF’s job to create a radical curriculum using money received as donations and grants from governments, under the guise of child protection,” read his post.

Kanoongo said that many books included in the curriculum of these madrasas are published in Pakistan and research on their content is ongoing.

“A madrasa is not a place for basic education of children in any form, children should study in regular schools and Hindu children should not be in madrasas at all,” Kanoongo said.

(With PTI inputs)