Moulana Abdul Quadir Quasimi, All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya, handing over a dictionary of Madrasas in Assam to DG Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta (Assam Police Twitter)
Daulat Rahman/Guwahati
The Assam Police have planned to create a directory of all the madrasas operating in the State. The decision was taken after the arrest of 20 persons in four months across the state for their alleged links to the Al Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), and setting up ‘jihadi’ sleeper cells.
Among the accused, there were some teachers from madrasas and imams from mosques.
Director General of Police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta along with Additional Director General (ADG), Special Branch, Hiren Chandra Nath have already held a detailed discussion with Moulana Abdul Quadir Quasimi, general secretary of All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya on the issue. This group is running the majority of private madrasas in the State.
Quadir handed over the directory of all the madrasas run by Tanzim Board – popular term for his organization - in Assam to the Police top brass.
“Going forward, we want to create a master directory of all the madrasas being run in Assam. It’s a tough job. As many of them are unregistered and unauthorized. Our objective – to prevent anti-India, jihadi elements from utilizing the madrasas for their nefarious fundamentalist purposes,” said DGP Mahanta.
All private madrasas in Assam function under the supervision of All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya based at Nilbagan in Hojai district in central Assam. Private Madrasas in Meghalaya and Nagaland are also affiliated with All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya. Nearly 100,000 students are enrolled in these madrasas.
Set up in 1955, the All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya was originally known as Madaris-e Quawmiya. The Tanzim board’s objective is not only to set up madrasas but also to streamline various segments of education and administrative works. In 1982, it got its current name. The board restricted its activities initially to the southern parts of the Nagaon district but gradually widened its network across Assam.
The preamble of the All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya says that it has been established to conserve and preserve Islam and to spread its ideology with Islamic science and knowledge throughout the world. It aims to produce pass outs, who could combat misconceptions and misinterpretation of Islam, and the madrassa and eradicate the forces hostile to Islam.
On other hand mushrooming of private madrasas in Assam has worried the Muslims as well. Senior advocate of Gauhati High Court Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury who is also a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board said there is a need for a regulatory body to monitor the activities and functions of the madrasas.
Renowned surgeon and Padmashree Dr. Illias Ali said mushrooming of private madrassas is not a good sign even as the Muslims do need an institution to produce manpower who could interpret the inherent philosophy of Islam and the Quran and spread the religion.
Moulana Abdul Quadir Quasimi, general secretary, All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya, said the number of madrassas in Assam is more than required. He said the Tanzim board has passed new norms to restrict the growth of madrasas. For instance, if a madrasa for men wants to be accredited by the Tanzim board, it must ensure that no similar madrasa exists within a five-km radius from its campus.
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