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Educational Backwardness of Muslims in Manipur
Causes and Remedies
By Syed Ahmed
The functional and constructive role of education as a necessary tool of emancipation has been widely acknowledged. Various studies have revealed that education is a vital agent of change and is used as a social indicator of development and modernization. Education raises the level of consciousness by bringing change in the personality and attitude of a person and sensitizing individuals to the larger social needs and issues, namely, status of women, the
upbringing of children, religion, politics, and general awareness.
Education's role as an emancipatory force especially for the women has been well emphasized. Along with economic independence educated women have more options and are better equipped to adapt to the modern social and economic set-up. Educated women not only understand life better but also prove to be good daughters, sisters, and more aware mothers and can bring up their children and run their homes in a better way. It all the more makes a woman aware of her
rights and contribute to family income.
Education also helps one to improve one's socio-economic status and lifestyle, for in today's world a better educated person can compete for and obtain prestigious jobs in the occupational sector. It has also become an indispensable
instrument for the development of a community or a nation. In the present world, only the nation or the community, which has advanced in educational and technological fields and other allied avenues of learning are ahead in the
socio-economic field. Judged by this parameter, the Muslims in Manipur, like their co-religionists in the mainland India can be perceived as an educationally backward community.
Muslims- the third largest religious community in Manipur- are sparsely distributed in the valley areas of the state while they are conspicuous by their absence in the five hill districts. As per the census enumeration of 2001 (Manipur Fact File, 2001), Muslim population in the state figures 1, 67,204 (6.9 percent) of the total population of 23, 88,634 (Meitei 56.9 percent, tribal 29.8 percent, and others 6.1 percent). Roughly speaking, around 70 % of the Muslim population resides in the rural areas while the remaining 30% inhabit the urban areas. They have a history of some 400 years in the state. As per the indigenous archaic literacy records, the present day Muslim population are the descendants of some hundreds of Muslim soldiers taken captive by the local ruler in the early 17th century.
Muslims in the state, like elsewhere in the mainland India, showed apathy to all the modern positive changes, which opened up new vistas of growth since independence. Comparatively speaking, while other communities took the lead in
acquiring modern education, entered new professions, and started progressing, Muslims lagged behind.
The Manipur Muslims, mainly due to their revivalist tendencies in the early part of 20th century, emphasized only on the importance of religious studies and failed to comprehend the importance of modern secular education, thereby ignoring it. Moreover, modern (read Western) education was then perceived as a threat to Islamic values and therefore they preferred sending their children to
madrasah for dini talim (religious education) instead.
It was only from the late 19th century that the Manipuri Muslims came in close contact with their brethrens outside. Few of the Muslims started moving out to pursue religious studies.
It is recorded that the first Moulana of Manipur returned after the completion of his course from Sylhet in 1871. Between 1871 and 1903, twenty seven Manipuri Muslims completed the course of Moulana. It was these
Moulanas who started to regenerate the true Islamic traditions in Manipur. They introduced the Islamic dress code, took the initiative for instructing the
Umma (community) the basic tenets of Islam, by
massawaras (discussions), and establishing
madrasahs in
the state was established there. Over 300-400 tulba (pupils) are enrolled there. It imparts formal training in Islamic studies. Miniature versions of this
madrasah mushroomed in many other parts of Muslim dominated areas, mostly
attached to local masjids, managed by public subscription and donations.
Muslims took to modern education as late as the 1970s, and that too was by a privileged few in Imphal. Unfortunately the situation, trend, and status of the educational backwardness cannot be quantified because of virtual absence of
statistical information. Neither do we have the statistical information on the attainment of the educational standards of the Muslims nor do we have separate statistic on Muslims' institutions’ pupils, drop-outs, teachers, etc, which can serve as indicators. However, in the absence of such specific data, it is still necessary to draw broad inferences and generalization based on available fragmentary information, as this is an important area of concern. As per a crude survey, as of now, the literacy rate of the Muslims in the state is a minuscule 8 per cent (Shakil Ahmed, The Milli Gazette) whereas the overall state's literacy rate is 68.87 percent (77.87 percent for male, 59.6 percent for female) as per the Census of 2001 which is considered to be among the highest in India.
One discernible trend is that Muslim students enrolment is relatively better till the high school level, thanks to the government's policy of free primary education (not necessarily for its quality), but the gap between the Muslims and
other communities become wider and more pronounced when we move upwards i.e., from the lower to the higher levels of education. Over this, the drop-out rate, which implies leaving the school or college mid-way before attaining the
requisite level, among the Muslim students is significantly higher than other communities with the result that the number of Muslim students as a percentage of the total keeps on declining as the level of education goes up. The highest
drop-out takes place at the middle level, i.e. class X, class XII, and graduation. In the rural areas, Muslim students do not even reach beyond the stage of vernacular literacy and sadly, they often suffer from reverted relapsed illiteracy. As per the survey conducted by AMMUCOC (All Manipur Muslim United Organization Coordinating Committee) - a representative body of the community in the state - on the overall educational level of the community, there are 5704
matriculates, 1822 graduates, 86 technical and professional graduates, till the year 1995. Muslims have very low participation in professional courses like medicine and engineering mainly due to low available base of matriculates and
equally qualified students who constitute the entrants for most of these courses.
One of the common explanations endorsed by one and all on the educational backwardness of Muslims in general is that Islam is trapped in a 'time warp', i.e. insusceptible to change, hence against modern education. This is a gross
misconception which need to be dispelled. Islam never impaired the educational advancement. In fact, knowledge or
llm is the very basic foundation of Islamic teachings. The very first revelation, or preamble, of the
Koran emphasizes the
importance of seeking knowledge, which runs: l Read: In the name of thy Lord who createth. Createth man from a clot. Read: And it is thy Lord the Most Bountiful who teacheth by the Pen, Teacheth man that which he knew not [Quran-Iqraa-1-5]. The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) too had repeatedly accentuated acquiring knowledge as the bounden duty of all Muslims,
irrespective of sex. Some of the clichéd statements of Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) are: Go in quest of knowledge even up to China (here he clearly emphasized the importance of acquiring modern knowledge), Reason is the basis of religion, Science is my arm, The acquisition of knowledge is a duty incumbent on every Muslim, male and female. He profoundly emphasized the importance of knowledge when he says: Acquire knowledge. It enableth its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lighteth the way to Heaven; it is our friend in the desert, our society in
solitude, our companion when friendless; it guideth us to happiness: it sustaineth us in misery; it is an ornament amongst friends, and on
armor against enemies.
In course of time as Islam spread to remote places of the then known world and came in contact with other cultures and civilizations, a number of centers of learning came into being, viz., Baghdad (Iraq) Kufa and Basra (Mesopotamia),
Isfahan and Nishapur (Iran), Bukhara and Samarqand (Transoxiana), Cairo (Egypt), Cardova (Spain). Apart from the usual curriculum of Quran, Hadith, Fiqh and associated subjects of Muslim theology, other so-called secular subjects came to be studied. A galaxy of Muslim scholars illuminated the world in different areas and for a considerable period of time led the torch of learning. Mention can be made of Jubir-ibn-Hasyan (776 AD; Chemistry), Abu Usman Umer ibnul Jubair (868 AD; Zoology), Abu Bakr ar Razi (923 AD; Medicine), Abul Wafa (923 AD, Trigonometry), Al Idrisi (Geography), Abu-Mashar (Astronomy), et.al.
Rather than religious, the educational backwardness of the Manipur Muslims can be explained from the way they perceive modern education and the
socio-economic condition in which they find themselves. Manipuri Muslims in the past failed to
comprehend the scope and meaning of education. To the lowest strata of Muslim society education does not seem to serve their functional need and hence is not prioritized.
One of the most important impediment, but generally underscored, in the Manipuri Muslims' educational progress is their socio-economic condition. It becomes pertinent to analyze succinctly the socio-economic condition of the Muslims in
the state. Muslims' socio-economic setting in the state in strikingly rural based who subsist in age-old agro-oriented pursuits. One does not find much change in the Muslims' economic structure even after independence. Agriculture,
sedentary and subsistence, is the mainstay of almost 80 percent of the Muslims in the state. The whole family members from the agricultural production unit, and production is geared to familial requirements and the surplus, if any, is
sold wholesale in the markets. To supplement their income they also engage in varied allied activities like animal husbandry, fishing, plantation farming, and handicraft activities. Over the years, agriculture-which accounts for the
largest sector of Muslim employment has not been able to adjust to the increasing population.
Muslim representation in the whiter-collar jobs in the state is quite low. Out of the aggregate Muslim population, there are: 51 class I officers (which include 3 women), 100 class II officers, 1270 employees in the class III and 1663 employees in the class IV categories (Shakil Ahmed, The Milli Gazette). As per the figures, Muslims are noticeable by their absence in such jobs where higher education is a prerequisite. The highest representation is in the state police force. While a sizable chunk of the urban Muslim population engage in various categories of low profile, informal or unorganized economic activities. The figures also evince that there had been a lack of proportional representation of Muslim in the government services and over the years it is continuously on the decline. So, the overall economic backwardness of the
Muslims act as a massive hindrance in their educational achievement and vice-versa. Moreover, agriculture, the main source of livelihood, hardly encourages education as it does not bring immediate economic benefits. So as a
normal practice when children reach 9 or 10 years of age, poor farmers enrolled them in the family trade to supplement income.
Even though Islam has given women equal rights in many aspects, including education, the patriarchal Manipuri Muslim society have somehow denied their rights and placed them at the lowest rung of education. They are, at large,
averse to educating girls, which is seen as unnecessary and unorthodox, and thus discouraged. More emphasis is given on inculcating such virtues as would make them hospitable, religious, and dutiful wives. It is also generally perceived
that it is the boys who will look after the family as the girls get married and move out of whose. Moreover, the requirement for older girls to stay at home to help in augmenting the family income, lack of relevance of school curriculum,
difficulty in securing suitable matches for highly educated Muslim girls, non-availability of separate hostel facilities, paucity of institutions imparting religious as well as secular education, the low standard of education imparted in government schools, and the cost of private education debars Muslim girls from education. Muhammad Riyaz Ahmed, a retired government official and researcher finds the Muslims' negative attitude towards female education, failure to establish educational institutions, poor response from the government, poverty, early marriage, fear of eve-testing, elopement, and
kidnapping as the main obstacles for Muslim girls' education in Manipur. (Radiance, February 1997). The importance of this conservative attitude is the fact that till 1998 there were only 4 Muslim women post-graduates.
All these and more, the educational infrastructure, especially private, in Muslim dominated areas is quite weak compared to others. And the few have low quality of education as shown by indicators such as students-teachers ratio,
educational qualification of the teacher, and their efficiency and the general facilities available at the institutions like library, laboratory, and sports facilities.
The alarming trend as of now is the situation in which the Muslim youths find themselves. The ever increasing trend of unemployment has further disillusioned the Muslim youths and detracted them from education as jobs become scarce and
the competition for jobs intensified. As a result, many out of frustration became easy victim of drugs, especially intravenous drugs. A fall out of this is the increase in the rate of HIV/AIDS patients over the years. Although, the Muslim community in the state suffers from several handicaps, a well designed and properly executed programs can bring the Muslims out of the rut of educational backwardness through collective action by maximizing and pulling advantages, resources, and adopting modern progressive, constructive, and result oriented outlook and approach. Muhammad Riyaz emphasized the need to synchronize
dini talim (religious education) with modern education up to High School Level, introduction of job oriented vocational trades in the existing
madrasahs, establishment of Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Muslim villages, providing scholarships and other financial assistance to Muslim girl students for the overall development of Muslim's education (Radiance, February, 1997).
Over and above these, the following points can be considered:
• To survey and prepare research reports on the educational and economic conditions of Muslims and appraise and impress upon the state authority about the gravity of the situation.
• To conduct seminars, workshops, symposia for training, exchange, and communication of ideas.
• To persuade well-to-to families and voluntary organizations to adopt school girls and contribute in cash or kind for their education.
• The state Wakf Board should play a more active role by keeping education on their priority list. This newly constituted apolitical body has socio-economic development schemes for the Muslims. It has started taking some initiative in
the educational sphere be giving scholarship and others but it fails to earmark enough money as the Board suffers from financial crunch.
• Muslim organizations should also play a key role in making the Muslims realize that modern education is linked or rather the panacea for the overall economic development and individual prosperity.
• As we are well aware that general education has not been able to meet the
growing demands of the modern economic development, so emphasis should also be given to vocational education to meet the skilled and middle level manpower needs of the growing sectors of the state economy.
• To launch HIV/AIDS awareness camps through IEC (Information, Education and Communication) programs. Muslims have so far not done anything in this regard. Seeing the growing morbidity and mortality rate among the Muslim youths, it is imperative to take up steps on war footing to control and contain HIV/AIDS and drug abuse problems.
• Last but not least, the state government needs to develop data to monitor the progress of Muslim participation in education, scholarships, jobs, bank loans, and anti-poverty programs, as their emancipation becomes a key step in the
overall development of the state.
The analysis shows the real magnitude of work that needs to be done in order to uplift the Muslims from the mire of ignorance. They can progress and play a constructive role in the state and defend their rights only if they strive to
improve their educational status.
**** The writer is a research scholar at the Center for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi.****
(Courtesy: The Imphal Free Press) |
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