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A file photo of Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. | Himanta Biswa Sarma/Facebook
On December 14, the Assam government passed a cabinet resolution to disband all state-run madrassas and Sanskrit tols (schools) in their current avatars. While the madrassas will be converted into regular schools, the tols will become centres of ancient studies, the state’s education minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, announced.
The rationale behind the decision, Sarma said, was to “secularise” education. Earlier in the year, Sarma had said the government “cannot allow teaching religious education with public money”.
But critics say that a reading of the fine-print of the government’s decision suggests it is not quite retreating from religious education. On the contrary, its action appeared to be targeted against the madrassas, which are often vilified as centres of Islamic indoctrination.
The multiple connotations of the word ‘secularism’ sometimes contradict one another in effect even if not semantically. The Assam government has decided to repeal the laws regarding state-run
madrasas and Sanskrit
tols and turn
madrasas into regular high schools. Theological subjects will be withdrawn; only Arabic will continue to be taught as a language.
Tols, however, will pass to the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University as research centres for Indian civilization, culture and nationalism. The reason announced for the decision is secularism. The Assam government cannot be faulted: in the
S.R. Bommai versus Union of India case of 1994, the Supreme Court had pronounced that state-owned educational institutions were prohibited from imparting religious instruction. But it has to be asked why there were state laws permitting
Assam’s madrasas to become regular schools
“We are basically going to run courses on Indian civilisation [in the Sanskrit tolls]…It will be different from history. The curriculum will be prepared from a civilisational point of view,” Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Updated: December 15, 2020 10:00:37 am
Himanta Biswa Sarma. (Express Photo/File)
The Assam government has approved the dropping of Islamic subjects from the curriculum of all state-run madrasas and the institutions are to be turned into regular schools. Also, the government has approved converting Sanskrit tolls into centres for learning of Indian heritage and civilisation.
“In 1934, when Assam was run by Muslim League government under Sir Syed Sadullah, madrasa education was introduced in the Assam education curriculum.. Yesterday our state government in our Cabinet meeting has finally decided to reform the education system and make it secular. As a result a
Guwahati: Assam will be India’s first state where Indian civilisation irrespective of religion would be taught after the closing down of hundreds of government run madrassas and Sanskrit tols (schools), state Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Monday.
He said that the Assam cabinet in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Sunday approved the proposal to close down all government-run madrassas and Sanskrit tols (schools), and a bill in this regard would be moved during the winter session of the state Assembly beginning from December 28.
“All the 683 government-run madrassas would be converted into the general schools and 97 Sanskrit tols would be handed over to Kumar Bhaskarvarma Sanskrit University. These Sanskrit tols would be converted into centres of learning and research where Indian culture, civilisation and nationalism would be studied.Irrespective of religion, Indian culture, civilisation and nationalism would be taught in these converted educ