The madrasa teachers in Assam are protesting against the state government’s failure to fulfil its promise to grant annual financial assistance to the madrasas of Assam at par with “mainstream” schools. The agitated Assam Madrasa Teachers’ Association (AMTA) president Nizamuddin Ahmed said that though Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had promised them equal financial assistance, it has not been fulfilled. The madrasas are allotted just Rs 1 crore. According to Ahmed, if the state government gives assistance to madrasas at par with other schools in the state, they need a total Rs 6.7 crore. In all, 326 madrasas from elementary to college-level across the state have been enlisted in the list of beneficiaries.
Appreciably, selected education institutes from the lower primary level to college level and those that have not been taken over by the state government have been provided with financial assistance annually by the Assam government. In the first year, Rs 3.9 crore was allotted to madrasas. However, in the next two financial years, it was reduced to Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 1 crore.
Recently, hundreds of madrasa teachers gathered at Kahilipara in front of the State Directorate of Madrasa Education and staged dharnas. The teachers have threatened to start a state-wide agitation if the Assam government fails to fulfil their demands.
Ahmed said the state government is increasing the annual financial assistance of other schools but they are indifferent to madrasas. He further added that the state government has also closed the process of affiliating madrasas for the last few years, and many of the madrasa teachers have retired without getting a penny.
Assam is one of the seven states in India where madrasas are managed by State Boards. The other states are UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal. There are 636 madrasas in Assam. Out of them, just 74 madrasas have been taken over by the state government.
There are four categories of madrasas – Arabic College, Title Madrasa, Senior Madrasa, Pre-senior Madrasa – in Assam. A Pre-Senior Madrasa has students from Class V to Class VII, an Arabic College has students from Class V to post-graduation, a Title Madrasa imparts two Post Graduate classes and the Senior Madrasa comprises 10 classes from pre-senior to Fadilul-Marif degree (graduation in Islamic studies).
Fadilul-Marif Degree is recognised in Aligarh Muslim University and Hamdard University. However, it is equivalent to the high school leaving certificate (Matriculation) examination in mainstream schools. Madrasa students with Fadilul-Marif Degrees can pursue higher studies (Plus II) in other schools also.
The madrasas of Assam impart Islamic as well as modern education. Modern or mainstream subjects like English, Mathematics, General Science and Social Studies are taught along with religious studies and languages like Arabic, Urdu and Persian. The theological subjects for the Fadilul-Marif degree are the Holy Qur’an, Hadith, Fiqh, Usool, Mantiq (logic). For the Mumtazul-Muhaddithin (equivalent to post-graduation), a student has to study the “tradition” of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless and greet him), interpretation of the Holy Qur’an and history of Islam. Computer education and vocational training are also introduced in most of the madrasas. However, most of the government recognised madrasas have poor infrastructure due to financial crunch.
In spite of the modern curriculum and students from other communities studying in these madrasas at the lower classes, madrasas are labelled as “Muslim-institutes,” and looked with suspicion and criticised for its socio-religious teaching techniques. Over the recent years, the Indian intelligence, Border Security Force (BSF) and State Government have charged that the madrasas in north-east are being used as breeding places of fundamentalist and militant activities.
In 2000, then Chief Minister of Assam, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, tabled a statement in the State Assembly on the ISI “misusing madrasas and mosques.” In 2007 the Indian intelligence and BSF reported that mosques and madrasas were mushrooming along the north-east’s extensive border with Bangladesh, and that there were at least 955 mosques and 445 madrasas in the border districts of the north-eastern states, while there were 976 mosques and 156 madrasas in 28 districts on the Bangladesh side. They further claimed that a sudden increase in the number of mosques and madrasas were noticed in West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya (particularly in Garo hills) and Tripura. A “restricted” defence document (as quoted in a newspaper) also stated that there were 96 madrasas and 243 mosques in Dhubri district of Assam. On the suspect list were the Golakganj madrasa (built in 1961), Tistapara Islamia Khairazi Madrasa, Durahati Senior Madrasa, Ratiadah Madrasa, Binachar Market Madrasa, Pabarchar Madrasa, Darul-Uloom Hafizra Santipur Madrasa, Bhatichar Mukoob Madrasa and Sadartilla Madrasas. All these madrasas are located just 100 metres from the border.
However, Muslim leaders, clerics and civil society organisations of the state strongly dismissed the charge. Badaruddin Ajmal, then President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, declared that there was not a single madrasa or mosque in the state that was involved in subversive activities. All Assam Madrasa Students’ Association (AAMSA) has been trying hard to change people as well as government’s opinion and attitude about madrasas in the state through “modernisation” of madrasas.