Muslim community and education: madrasas and the dialectics of colonial policies in North India, 1781–1835.

Throughout the pre-colonial period in India, the term madrasa denoted an educational institution teaching both rational sciences and religious subjects. With the establishment of British colonial rule in India, madrasas experienced direct colonial meddling in their administration, organization, and curriculum formulation. By redefining madrasas primarily as religious institutions, colonial policies contributed to a shift in Muslim identity towards a more confined religious framework, moving away from the broader intellectual traditions that had previously characterized these institutions. This paper critically examines the diverse colonial policies concerning Muslim education and the colonial mindset towards oriental educational establishments between 1781 and 1835. It argues that the indigenous forms of knowledge were superseded and displaced by new ‘imported’ forms of epistemes through stringent colonial policies between this period. It shows how the pre-colonial Islamic institutions degenerated due to the colonial interventions, resulting in the marginalization of the Muslim community in North India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]