Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on January 1 said that the State Government has started an experiment to include the Muslim community, including the Bengali speaking Muslims, as stakeholders in the Government’s fight against radical Islamist and Jihadis.
Assam police has already initiated measures to de-radicalise the Privately run Madrassas and they will have to fill up a Performa besides maintain a ledger book and also to give details on descriptions of the land. The detailed description of teachers teaching in the Madrassa has to be furnished by the board with the competent authorities.
The Assam Government demolished three madrassas in the State in September last year for their involvement in Jihadi activities. Almost 400 Government-run madrassas were converted into regular schools by the State Government in 2021
Chief Minister said while talking with media persons on the occasion of the new year, “Last year we cracked eight modules of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team, nine Bangladesh nationals involved in Jihadi activities were identified. Around 53 Jihadis were arrested.” He further added that Assam Director General of Police (DGP) is working with Muslim community to rationalise the Madrassa education. “We are getting cooperation from them. Those who are running the Madrassa are making them as stakeholders rather than taking them as enemies.” Dr Sarma added.
CM Sarma said, “There are areas where there is hardly any Hindu. We have started an altogether new experiment in the war against Jihadi and fundamentalist Islamist, community including Bengali speaking Muslim as made stakeholder.”
The Chief Minister added, “These people have created a positive, conducive environment. Rationalisation, inclusion of science and maths subjects respecting Right to education, reducing the number of Madrassa, database of teachers and making those teachers coming from outside mandatorily appear before police stations from time to time. We have prepared a checklist however yet to ink an agreement.”
It should be mentioned that there are around 2,500 madrassas under private management in Assam. At a meeting between Assam police, education department and the representatives of five private madrassa education boards namely All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qaumiya, All Assam Talimi Tarakkee Board, Madras Education Board All Hafis (Salafi), Adara Madaris Islamia and All Assam Ahle Sunnat Madrasa recently, it was decided that before engaging any teacher from outside the state, the madrassas will have to seek police verification of the individual and that the distance between two madrassas will have to be three kilometres. Also, each madrassa will have to have a minimum enrolment of 100 students.
Earlier Assm DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta had said, “Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) modules which were busted by security agencies, we found they tried to radicalise through madrassas. We looked into madrassas who were conspicuous in their behaviour. So that there is no misuse of madrassa, we met the Islamic scholars and we wanted their opinion. We give them certain suggestions like opening a board and police verification of teachers”.
The Assam Government demolished three madrassas in the State in September last year for their involvement in Jihadi activities. Almost 400 Government-run madrassas were converted into regular schools by the State Government in 2021.
