Assam: All state-run madrassas to be converted into schools, announces Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that the state government will shut down some madrassas and will convert all state-run madrassas into regular schools. He said a notification will be released in November. “All State-run madrassas will be converted into regular schools or in certain cases teachers will be transferred to state-run schools and madrassas will be shut down,” Sarma said.

Justifying this move, the minister said teaching ‘Quran’ can’t happen at the cost of government money, and if the state has to do so then it should also teach both the Bible and Bhagavad Gita. “In my opinion, teaching ‘Quran’ can’t happen at the cost of government money, if we have to do so then we should also teach both the Bible and Bhagavad Gita. So, we want to bring uniformity and stop this practice,” the minister added.

Himanta also assured that his government will act tough against all those who use deceptive methods to marry girls. “Many Muslim boys create Facebook accounts with Hindu names and post pictures of themselves at temples. Once a girl gets married to one such boy, she discovers that he is not from the same religion. This is not a bona fide marriage but a breach of trust,” he said.

The minister further said that the state government has decided to act tough and in next five years it will try to see that all marriages take place out of free will and there is no deception. “We will fight against any such marriage which has been solemnised on the basis of fraud,” Sarma said.