On Saturday, January 22, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the government wants to reduce the number of madarsas in the state and start a registration system for them. Sarma also said that his government is closely working with the Muslim community on this.
During a press conference, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “We want to reduce the number of madarsas in the state in the first phase.” He continued, “We want to start a registration system in Madrasas and put general education in Madrasas.”
CM Sarma continued, “We want to start a registration system in madarsas and put general education in madarsas. We are working on this and the minority community is also helping us.”
We want to reduce the number of Madrasas (in the state) in the first phase. We want to put general education in Madrasas & start a system of registration in Madrasas. We are working with the community on this & they’re helping the Assam govt: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma pic.twitter.com/QrLCkFls10
— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2023
This statement from the Assam CM comes after the Director General of Police (DGP) Assam, Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, informed that discussions were underway for bringing reforms to madarsas in the state. He had said that all small madarsas will be merged with nearby large madarsas to reduce the threat of radicalisation in the state.
Earlier on Monday, DGP Mahanta, while addressing a press conference, said that the state police busted nine modules of terror outfits Ansarul Bangla Team (ABT) and Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), and arrested 53 suspected terrorists last year. He highlighted that one common thing in all the modules busted by police was that they were mostly using madarsas or masjids to radicalise Muslim youths.
DGP Mahanta said that in a bid to curb radicalisation, about 100 small, private madarsas in Assam have already been merged with larger ones. He also pointed out that not all madarsas are involved in radicalisation activities, however, there is a threat as Assam is a soft target since the state has a large Muslim population.
Muslim leaders, according to DGP Mahanta, approached the authorities to report these activities. It was decided to implement educational reforms in madarsas at a meeting attended by 68 community leaders.
Based on the discussions, there will only be one madarsa within a three-kilometre radius. Madarsas with 50 students or fewer will be merged with bigger ones nearby. In addition to teaching Arabic, the updated curriculum will adhere to modern education, especially in terms of skill development for career purposes.
