Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stressed uniform and ‘common education’ in all schools in the country, saying that the existence of the word ‘madrasa’ should now be completely eliminated. In a program organized in Delhi, he said that children should study to become doctors, engineers, professors, and scientists.
‘As long as this word is there, children will not be able to think of becoming a doctor-engineer.’
Assam CM said that as long as this word (madrasa) is there, children will not be able to think of becoming doctors and engineers. If you tell children that studying in madrasas will not make them doctors or engineers, they will refuse to go independently.
‘Teach the Quran but at home.’
Biswa Sarma further said, ‘Children are admitted in madrasas in violation of their human rights. There should be an emphasis on subjects like Science, English, and Mathematics in the school. There should be general education in schools. Religious texts can be taught at home, but children must study to become doctors, engineers, professors, and scientists in schools. He reiterated that children should also be taught Quran at home in the same event.
In this academic session, when a retired academician said that the students of madrasas are very talented; they can easily memorize every word of the Quran, Sarma said, ‘All Muslims were Hindus first. No Muslim was born (in India). Everyone in India was a Hindu. So, if a Muslim child is extremely intelligent, I will give partial credit to his Hindu past.
Sarma said that Assam has a ’36 percent Muslim population divided into three categories: indigenous Muslims, whose culture is similar to ours, converts Muslims – we call them indigenous Muslims, and they still have a Tulsi plant in the courtyard of their house. And displaced Muslims who call themselves Mian Muslims.
In 2020, the Sarma-led Assam government, moving forward on the system of a secular education system, decided to dissolve all the government madrasas in the state and convert them into general educational institutions. After this, the matter reached the Gauhati High Court.