Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind President Arshad Madani has emphasised the need for higher education for the Muslim community and said the current situation in the country can only be countered through education.

"The kind of religious and ideological war that has now started in the whole country cannot be countered with any weapon or technology but the only way to win this war is to equip our new generation with higher education. We should enable them to use their knowledge and consciousness to defeat their opponents in this ideological war and to reach the milestones of success and prosperity," said Madani.

He alleged that all the post-independence governments had excluded Muslims from good education through their policies. The report of the Sachar Committee discloses this bitter truth which clearly states that Muslims lag far behind even Dalits in the field of education, he said.

He asked if this happened spontaneously or Muslims deliberately withdrew themselves from education. "All the governments that have come to power have kept us backward in education, as they may have realised that if Muslims move forward in the field of education, they will rise to the highest positions with their abilities and talents. Efforts have been made to isolate Muslims from the national mainstream of education through tricks and obstacles."

He stressed that now is the time for Muslims to get their children educated at any cost. "We urgently need schools and colleges in which our children can get higher education with religious identity in the world without any hindrance or discrimination."

"Unfortunately, Indian Muslims, especially the wealthy Muslims of northern India, are not paying attention to what is most important to us at this moment," he said.

He cautioned the community that today Muslims are more interested in spending on other things but they are not paying enough attention to education.

<em>(IANS)</em>.