The Azizia Madrasa, also known as Madrassa Azizia, was a madrasa located in Bihar Sharif, Bihar, India. It housed a library, consisting of around 4,500 volumes. The structure was destroyed by a Ram Navami riot.
History
The complex was initially established in 1896 in Patna by Bibi Soghara in memory of her late husband, Abdul Aziz. Later, the institution shifted to Bihar Sharif. The madrassa was under the management of the Soghara Trust.[1][2] Its library consisting of volumes from different centuries, covering subjects such as science, philosophy and logic, Islamic literature, medicine, divinity, Hadiths, including Arabic books from Egypt and Turkey.[3][2]
On 31 March 2023, during the festival of Rama Navami, a mob consisting of a thousand people attacked the madrasa and its library, setting the structures on fire, leading to their destruction.[3] The remains of the burnt books were buried behind the library by staff afterwards.[3] One individual died in the violence and 77 persons were arrested afterwards.[4][1][2]
References
- 1 2 Ali, Faisal Mohammed (22 April 2023). "Bihar Sharif: The 113-year-old India library torched in a riot". BBC News. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- 1 2 3 Faisal, Meer (10 April 2023). "India town mourns burning of historic library at Muslim school". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- 1 2 3 Nooreyezdan, Nadia (31 July 2023). "The Rampant Erasure of Muslim Heritage in India". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ↑ Gupta, Vivek (2 May 2023). "'What the violent destruction of a Muslim library in Bihar tells us about the troubling state of Islamic heritage in India'". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 30 December 2025.