Lockdown Hits Madrassa Incomes Badly

Thanks to the lockdown, the Ramzan festivities are all but gone. The Ramzan market sales are down and the traditional livelihoods of Muslims, who come from poor backgrounds, are almost finished. Now, here comes a bigger shock. The Madrassas,where the religious education is imparted to the Muslim youth, are going to be badly hit this year.

If sources are to be believed, the mandatory donations to the Madrassas, made during the Ramzan period are coming down drastically. With economic downturn, the donations are hard to come by and even those who are giving, have drastically reduced the amounts. There are over 4000 madrassas in Telangana and their cumulative annual budget is around Rs 1000 crore. A majority of this comes through the donations made during the Ramzan period. In fact, Ramzan donations take care of 80 per cent of the financial needs of the Madrassas. This time around, the amount has got drastically reduced. In many such institutions, new recruitments too could take a beating due to Corona fears.

Sources in the Muslim community say that a significant number of madrassas may close down in the coming days. Also, even the rich persons in the community will be forced to focus on reviving their businesses and may not be able to support the religious institutions.