Daulat Rahman/Guwahati

In a major confidence-building measure Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that his government has decided to involve the Muslim community to modernize and rationalize madrassa education in the State.

“We cannot consider them (the Muslim community) as an enemy. There are many areas in the State without a single Hindu community member. In such areas, only Muslims can provide us with information about jihadi activities and operations of suspicious madrassas. My government has decided to consider Muslims as the stakeholders in our fight against Islamic fundamentalism. Without the cooperation of the Muslim community, the success of the anti-jihad operation is impossible,” Sarma said. 

The Chief Minister said the Assam Police is coordinating with Muslims who have a positive attitude towards education to create a good environment in the madrasas. There are some 3,000 registered and unregistered Madrasas in Assam.

“The police under the directive of Director General of Police (DGP)Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta is working with the Muslim community to rationalise madrasa education. They should not be considered as enemies, instead, we want them as stakeholders,” Sarma said.

Sarma said that all teachers who have come from outside Assam to teach in the madrasas may be asked to appear at regular intervals at the nearest police station.

He said the Assam Police cracked down on at least 8 modules of the terrorist organization Ansarul Bangla Team and Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent in 2022 in which 51 people were arrested and the direct involvement of nine Bangladeshis was detected for operating from some private madrasas.

On the other hand, the DGP of Assam Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta recently held a crucial meeting with representatives of various private madrassas to streamline the functioning of such institutions in the State. The meeting held on December 25, 2022, at the Assam Police headquarters here took stock of progress made by private madrassas to modernize their education.

As per the plan, a portal will be launched soon to keep detailed information and records of private madrassas. The owners of madrassas will have to upload and update information about their institutions in the portal. Information like the background of teachers of madrassas, sources of salaries of teachers and other funds, and total land areas will have to be uploaded in the portal.

The December 25 meeting has asked the single apex body like All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya or Tanzim board to bring all unregistered private madrassas under its jurisdiction.

General Secretary of All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya Maulana Abdul Qadir has appreciated the chief minister’s statement and said such a statement will have positive repercussions among the Muslim community.

ALSO READ: RSS's Goa brainstorming allays fears, misgivings of Muslims

“The December 25 meeting is the fourth round of meeting between the top Assam Police officials and representatives of different madrassas to streamline madrassa education,” Abdul Qadir said.