Assam administration continues to crack down on suspicious madarsas in the state that have ties to banned Islamic terrorist organisations. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Sunday, January 1, 2023, that all teachers who have come from outside Assam to teach in Madarsas in the state may be asked to appear from time to time at the nearest police stations.
The action follows a government crackdown on madarsas with suspected ties to the terrorist group Ansar-ul-Bangla or Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), which led to the identification of 51 Bangladeshis who were teaching in some of the madarsas in the state.
CM Sarma said that a checklist has been prepared for the Madarsas, though the state is yet to “enter into an agreement with stakeholders, but things are moving in the right direction.” He added that the Assam Police is working with Muslims in the state to “rationalise” Madarsa education.
The Assam CM said the police are coordinating with Bengali Muslims, who have a positive attitude towards education to create “a good environment” in the Madarsas.
Science and mathematics will also be taught as subjects in the Madarsas, and the right to education respected and a database of teachers maintained, he said. “They should not be considered as enemies, instead we want them as stakeholders,” the chief minister added.
It may be recalled that in September last year, a Madarsa in the Goalpara district in Assam had come under scrutiny with alleged ties to the Bangladeshi terrorist organisation Ansar-ul-Bangla or Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). The Dargar Alga Madrassa located at Pakhiura Char had also been identified by the police for possible terror links.
Earlier, the founder of the Madarsa, Imam Jalaluddin, and two more persons were arrested by police for suspected terror links. Police had found that Jalaluddin had recruited suspected Bangladeshi Jihadis as teachers, and two of them are now absconding. Several incriminating documents, phones, and SIM cards were also seized from their possession. According to the Assam Police, the two were associated with the terror outfits named Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) which is based out of Bangladesh.
Assam CM Sarma orders the registration of non-local Imams of madarsas
Following the arrest of Imam Jalaluddin and one other imam identified as Abdus Subhan, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma designed Standard Operating Procedure to ensure that imams and other people coming to madarsas from other states register their names on the government portal.
According to the reports, the government portal is being created only for Imams and other people who are coming to Madarsas from outside the state.
