Telangana police data drive on Islamic institutions raises religious profiling fears
Muslim leaders question scrutiny amid lack of written authorization
Hyderabad : Police in India’s Telangana state are collecting detailed information about Islamic seminaries, Muslim-run educational institutions and religious organizations without providing written authorization or clearly explaining the purpose of the exercise, raising concerns among Muslim educational leaders about possible religious profiling.
According to Kashmir Media Service, police personnel have reportedly approached madrasa administrators in Hyderabad, Secunderabad and other areas, seeking records relating to their institutions, students, staff and management structures.
The information being collected includes institutional registration details, legal status, management arrangements and the police station jurisdiction under which each institution operates.
Authorities are also seeking details about student enrollment, gender, residential arrangements and teaching and non-teaching staff, including information about part-time and full-time students.
Several madrasa administrators have questioned why Muslim educational institutions are being subjected to such extensive scrutiny, particularly when police have not provided written instructions authorizing the exercise.
Representatives of prominent Islamic seminaries in Hyderabad said they had never encountered a similar police exercise in the city’s history.
The administrators said officers had cited verbal instructions from senior officials while pressing institutions to submit information in writing.
In some areas, madrasa representatives have received telephone calls asking them to visit police stations with institutional records. Elsewhere, police officers have visited seminaries directly to collect information.
Senior Telangana Police officials have defended the exercise as a routine administrative process intended to map madrasas and maintain institutional records for future reference.
However, Muslim educational representatives have questioned whether similar information is being collected from schools, colleges, hostels and religious institutions run by other communities.
They have expressed concern that the exercise could lead to religious profiling and raised questions about the implications of maintaining extensive police records on Muslim students and educational institutions.
Madrasa administrators say the absence of written orders, transparent procedures and a clear explanation of the exercise has left them uncertain about its purpose and how the collected information might be used.
