Muslims were in a dilemma, not been able to decide what to do. As the Englishmen put an end to the traditional education system, they divided the education into two categories: religious and non-religious. This made the ulama worried about the preservation of the religious as well as cultural identities. The ulama responded to the situation in two ways: firstly, they tried to tackle this impasse through violent means in uprising of 1857 but it resulted in disastrous consequences; secondly, sensing the change in the need and nature of the time, they did their best to open a series of madrasas at a number of places first in UP and then all across the country. Thus, a network of them got established in the country.

Arshad analyses the history of Indian Madarsaas