It comes as a surprise when we hear that there are some Hindu students in these Indian Madarsas. And if we hear that there are some Hindu teachers in these Madarsas, it is very astonishing. And if we come to know that there are Hindu headmasters in these schools then our surprise crosses all boundaries. But in India, which is the greatest secular country of the world & in its one of the states that is West Bengal, these all amazing facts can be realized. In western Medinipur district of this state, Suwaran Varan Panda is a headmaster of Kauthi Rehmania High Madarsa. At present 900 students are getting education in this Madarsa. Among them the number of Hindus or non-Muslims is more than 200. Two years ago, the number of non-Muslims in this Madarsa was less than 50. The headmaster Panda says that despite of his association with the Hindu religion, even too he gets more regard from the Muslim teachers & the Muslim students, in comparison with his other colleagues. Similarly, there is Akra High Madarsa in district 24 Pargana in the South of West Bengal state, in which there was no non-Muslim student last year but today 34 Hindu students can be seen who are getting education there. According to a Hindu girl student, Meenakshi Naskar, everything is normal here. Meenakshi has good knowledge of Arabian language. In Ujaria Madarsa of district Jalpaiguri of this state, many Hindu students are getting education. Here Tanya Sen, a 14 year student, got better marks in Arabian examination in comparison to the Muslim students. Tanya Sen proudly says that her being non-Muslims had never been controversial. Similarly, in a Madarsa of South Calcutta, there are many non-Muslim students & teachers. The headmaster Tapas Layak of this Madarsa says that here is love & harmony among all the students & teachers. Similarly, another Hindu teacher Devesh Mandal teaches English in a Madarsa.
The word "Madarsa" originated from the Persian word "dars." Dars means lesson or education, so Madarsa is a place where lessons are taught & education is imparted. The other word originated from "dars" is "Mudarris." It means "that gives education or "a teacher." It clearly conveys that the word Madarsa is not associated with Islamic teachings but it is a synonym of the word school.
