Madani said that “the world thinks that Muslims have become helpless, finished, and barren. I don’t believe so. Today a Muslim Mamdani can become mayor of New York, a Khan can become mayor of London, whereas in India no one can even become a university vice-chancellor. And even if someone does, they will be sent to jail, as Azam Khan was. Look at what is happening today in Al-Falah.” His remarks came during a session at JUH’s Delhi office.
JUH is a historic body representing Muslim scholars and community interests and has frequently engaged in debates around minority rights, education and law. Madani’s remarks framed the latest in a sequence of interventions in which the organisation has flagged what it perceives as institutional barriers to Muslim advancement in India.
In his critique, Madani accused the government of pursing a strategy to “ensure that they never raise their heads”, asserting that Muslims are structurally prevented from occupying senior academic and administrative offices. He pointed to the legal scrutiny of Al-Falah University founder Jawed Siddiqui, currently held by the Enforcement Directorate, and the penal action against Azam Khan — a former minister and vice-chancellor — as evidence.
Several leading national politicians took sharp exception to Madani’s characterisation. Giriraj Singh described his remarks as “provocative” and suggested that such statements undermined social harmony. Shehzad Poonawalla of the governing party challenged the notion of bias, insisting that Muslims in India have attained the highest offices — including the presidency, judiciary and key civil-service posts — and accused the scholar of misrepresenting investigations as communal targeting.
Opposition parties and minority-rights advocates, by contrast, said Madani’s intervention highlighted an under-explored dimension of representation. Former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit cited the absence of Muslim vice-chancellors in central universities as symptomatic of larger exclusion in top-tier academic appointments across the country.
Data on appointment patterns across Indian higher-education institutions is fragmented but does indicate minority under-representation in senior roles, especially in central universities and institutes of national importance. Detailed audits remain rare, making direct comparisons difficult. Analysts say that while achievement in leadership roles is affected by a web of factors — including caste, wealth, networks and regional politics — religion may act as an additional barrier in certain contexts.