Over 100 small madrassas in Assam have been merged with larger to prevent religious radicalisation of the students, the state police chief said on Monday, according to NDTV.
Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said that radicalisation usually takes place in smaller madrassas, or Islamic seminaries. He also claimed that Assam, with its sizeable Muslim population, is a “natural target” for such radicalisation, PTI reported.
“We are formulating a few rules,” Mahanta said. “Small madrassas, which have less than 50 students, will be merged with bigger ones. The Muslim community has helped us in this venture.”
The police chief said that under the proposed rules, only one madrassa will be allowed in the state within a three kilometres-radius.
Mahanta also said that a survey has been undertaken to prepare a database of all madrassas in the state. The survey, which is likely to be ready by January 25, will gather details about land ownership, number of teachers, students and the curriculum, he said.
Authorities in Assam have taken a tough stance on madrassas on several occasions in recent months. In August, civic authorities demolished three madrassas after the police stepped up operations against alleged modules of banned Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team. The terror outfit is said to have links with Al-Qaeda…
