MUSLIM EDUCATION IN BENGAL
Abstract
This paper examines the Bengali Muslims: Educational Opportunities: Issues and Concerns. It focuses mainly on the consequences caused by Muslims for being divergent from the flow of education.
India has been recognized always as an enriched multicultural country. The state classification based on culture was a vain attempt somehow. Bengal has been the soil of invasions, refugee shelters and cultural integration. Settlement of Muslims in the region, whether it was via invasion, catapulted Bengal to further dominions of development. The amalgamation of different knowledge was crucial crystal. As a periodical ambiguity, the power exchange was possible but, the methodology of doing for people was not incredible. Concerning as foreigners, they were detoured from the stature of education through a crypto-conspiracy. As an ensuing result, their all social forums were distorted from the past shape.
Muslim educational status is going to wane rapidly in Bengal. Their exaggeration in secondary education makes the false belief that Muslims are coming forward. The Muslim minority question arises here that where are Muslims in higher educational hub. Has really Madrasah Board benefited them with the quality education? Whether Bangladesh or West Bengal i.e. Bengal Muslims, despite of being fed with an amount of scholarships and constitutional provisions, can’t contribute something to their community; to their state as though they have stuck in an inherent impasse. Politics of ignorance prevailed in Muslims has affected the integration of different knowledge
Introduction
Muslims of Bengal has been generally recognized as a civilization for the inerasable footprints they have drawn in the sand of passed times. The identity has rolled with uniqueness over heritage, cultural integration, and political prosperity and currently over the stage of impasse. These factors have crucially attracted worldwide attention for deep research and that has been done in several fields too. The history of medieval Bengal, according to the great Bengali Historian Dr. R.C Majumdar, has been remarked as the ‘Muslim Period’ which ranged from ‘Muhammad Bahktiyar Khilji’ to the ‘Rule of the Nawabs’. In reference to this, ironically it is astonishing that Muslims declined to brink of loss identity being termed ‘deprived community’ in the country and ‘slowest…worst performing’ community in the state.
This periodical paradox seeks exact reasons. Among all that ambiguous factors, Muslims starving from lack of education comes with a big question. Political motives has appeased them no to come out from this dark abyss of ignorance. Aided madrasah education bore noting much enough for their progress. Private Institutions have come forward. Somehow, it didn’t become comfortable to all for economic crisis has bigoted their atmosphere of higher education. Thus, they have been circled by the wall of illusive quarantine. As a result, they can’t help contribute something more to update their historical identity.
A Historical Outlook
The history of Bengal is the core segment of the Indian history of communal harmony. The collaboration of religions has helped the transmission of knowledge. For instance, the architecture of the time, above some contradictory discussions, depiction of both religions can be seen. Several such pilgrim destinations still can be found in the state. However, some political motives and mischievous thoughts diverted national motion from this view of point. As a consequence, both groups kept an unhygienic feeling towards each other.
The depiction of some historians in reverse verses has brought a light in this content. R.C Majumdar has stated in his Preface of ‘History of Medieval Bengal’ and put forward the discussion quoting respect readers. However, the destructive actions of distorting history by the historians have made a split between the traditions of Hindu-Muslim unity in the region wider than the actual shape.
Current Status of Bengal Muslim Education: Issues and Opportunities
The population of Bengal Muslim is increasing rapidly but, their ways and means of lifestyle didn’t get any dimensional development. Muslims in Bengal covered 25.25 % of the population in India while they accounted for 27% of the state’s population. It is unexpected that such a huge population is suffering from the deprivation of proper quality education which threw them to the all stages of stagnation whether of economy, politics, organization, social standard and dignity.
Literacy rate of Muslims in West Bengal is at the stake of below average with a rough of 68%. This indicates extreme poor condition of Muslims in the state. The further report of dropout is (22%) extremely appalling. The process of being ‘half baked chicken’ is vividly explicit in gender base statistics. In this low percent of Muslim Education, there is huge difference between male and female. It’s an indispensible factor to be elaborated in this review.
The Muslim male and female enrollment primary to secondary education is not low too. This gives a misconception that their new generation is coming forward. It would be so, if they get a quality education in their Primary and Secondary level. Most of Bengali students generally are not able to go through the basic knowledge in these two levels. Muslim higher education in the state is going probably vacant from the recent history. At present, Muslim men and women don’t step up for higher education for family and maintenance and child marriage respectively.
Muslim male students as grow up to maturity fathom the instability of his family and break down the educational tie as it doesn’t help to support them. Then they start searching for proper livelihood shouldering the responsibility of family maintenance. At last, they feel sufficed with cheap but, hardworking jobs of laboring in other states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Metro cities are their prime destination. Even Muslim women are forcibly adjoined with several household works and house maintenance like Biri making. This has bigot the Muslim society so badly.
The deprivation of Muslim women from higher education seeks some possible reasons. The main hurdle is poverty as it is interconnected with male education countdown. When a Muslim girl reaches teenage, marriage-fear looms before her family for there is bad system of high dowry prevalent in the Bengal Society. That’s why when a father finds comfortable and ease marriage, he forgets the future planning and accept it as he survived a mountain like burden. Another rational reason for slow down of Muslim women’s education in a contrast with non-Muslim women is a societal hindrance. When the state accepts a large population share of Muslim in the country, it bears also some Muslim populated districts like Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur and North 24 Parganas. In these Muslim concentrated areas, infrastructural facilities for higher education are so rare. Still, most of colleges in these areas are running with low management and administration consideration.