Across the Indian state of West Bengal, an administrative exercise by the police administration to gather detailed information on mosques, madrasas, eidgahs, and shrines (majars) has cast a shadow of anger and debate.
What was initiated as a data-gathering process has rapidly spiralled into a public controversy regarding police methods and constitutional rights.
Although the state government had previously informed Indian High Court that it had issued no official directives to collect such data, police officers – acting under instructions from the Intelligence Branch in connection with a public interest litigation – have been requiring religious institutions to submit a detailed 21-point questionnaire.
The survey has raised serious questions over how it can proceed despite a previous High Court order explicitly stipulating that information concerning the privacy and fundamental rights of religious institutions cannot be sought.
Critics point out that many of the details demanded by the police impinge upon private and fundamental rights, while resentment has brewed over police personnel arriving late at night to deliver these forms to mosque committees.
The 21-point form issued by the police probes into several sensitive aspects of these religious institutions.
It asks for explicit details regarding ideological affiliations – inquiring whether an institution identifies with Shia, Sunni, Hanafi, Hambali, Deobandi, or Barelvi traditions – alongside exact GPS locations, aerial distances from the international border with Bangladesh, and land boundaries.
Police are logging whether the land is self-purchased, donated, waqf property, valid, or khas (state-owned) land, while recording the names and telephone numbers of imams and muezzins.
However, the heaviest focus has been directed towards financial matters.
The questionnaire seeks to determine how these religious institutions are funded – specifically whether funds are received from abroad – and requires a full accounting of any foreign nationals who have visited over the past three years, including their identities and full details.
The timing and procedure of this information gathering have served as the primary trigger for the controversy.
In Nimtita, Murshidabad, residents grew indignant when police officers arrived late at night to serve notices to a mosque committee, prompting a protest that surrounded the local police station.
The demonstrators questioned the rationale behind delivering such notices late at night.
Meanwhile, the Indian High Court has issued clear directives stating that the privacy and fundamental rights of ordinary citizens or any specific religious community cannot be curtailed under the guise of maintaining law and order.
Having explicitly cautioned against unnecessary harassment in the name of police data collection, court directives are now facing scrutiny over whether they are being respected given the extensive scope of information being demanded.
Commenting on the issue, Mawlana Siddiqullah Chowdhury, West Bengal state president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, stated that mosques and madrasas across the state were established in accordance with government regulations and hold all valid documentation.
While noting that there is no objection to re-submitting documents, he added that sending police officers late at night to deliver such notices without clear official orders is entirely improper.
Echoing this sentiment, Mawlana Nizamuddin Biswas, state secretary of the “All Bengal Imam-Muazzin Association,” highlighted that madrasas represent a traditional educational system recognised by the Constitution of India.
He stated that there is nothing to conceal regarding their curriculum or operational methods, adding that the administration or government is welcome to inspect teaching practices and overall arrangements at any time.
Mawlana Nizamuddin Biswas stressed that unnecessary police harassment or irregularities under the pretense of data collection will not be tolerated, though institutions remain ready to extend full cooperation if information is requested through BDO offices or proper administrative channels.
On the other hand, Mawlana Abdur Razzaque, a leader of the “All India Imam-Muazzin Organisation,” believes cooperating with the administration is beneficial for maintaining organizational transparency.
He noted that special measures have been undertaken to ensure transparency across mosques, madrasas, and orphanages operated through public financial contributions and donations.
Razzaque explained that the initiative aims to bring these institutions – run on public donations, Zakat, and Fitra without government aid – within a legal and administrative framework.
He nonetheless reminded that law enforcement must avoid creating unnecessary complications or harassing ordinary citizens while collecting information.
Overall, this administrative drive to gather detailed information on Muslim religious institutions has emerged as a major focal point of discussion across West Bengal.
