Assam Government’s ‘Secularism’- It Upgrades Sanskrit Tols By Bringing Them Under A University While State-Run Madrasas Are Disbanded
By
Dr. Adil Hossain
02 Jan 2021
When the
Assam government passed a bill to abolish all the state-run madrasas and
Sanskrit tols in the state with serious objection from the opposition parties
in the assembly, the state's Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the
intent was only to 'secularise' education.
While
arguing that the government “cannot allow teaching religious education with
public money”, a government note also emphasised that they would convert 97
Sanskrit tols in the state.
A Bid to
‘Save’ Assamese Culture & Civilisation
Opposition
parties like the Congress and Badruddin Ajmal's All Indian United Democratic
Front (AIUDF) questioned the government's intent by alleging that the bill
would polarise Assam ahead of the 2021 assembly elections.
They are
right to be apprehensive of such a move as minister Sarma had earlier declared
that the upcoming elections would see as a battle to save Assam’s ‘culture
& civilisation’.
According
to the 2011 Census, Hindus account for around 61.47 percent of Assam’s
population, while Muslims stand at about 34.22 percent. Referring to the
state’s demography, Sarma had said the 60-plus majority would ‘together fight
against this culture-civilisation notion’.
Muslims are
often accused by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — to which Himanta Biswa
Sarma belongs — for bringing in ‘alien’ Islamic culture into the state.
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Also
Read: Assam: Abolishing Madrasas or Converting Them into
Dysfunctional Government Schools?
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Why Does
BJP View Madrasas With Suspicion?
Madrasas,
be they state-run or self-funded local Islamic seminaries, have always remained
the ‘favourite target’ of BJP leaders since the party's inception. They have
been regularly terming madrasas as ‘hotbeds of terrorism’, without any basis
and verifiable facts.
However, we
rarely see such public statements concerning the Sangh Parivar’s educational
institutions like Ekal Abhiyan or Vidya Bharati.
‘Secularism
Alibi Falls Flat’
The motive
behind such biased attitudes lies in the Sangh’s ideology, where every Hindu is
a de-facto Indian. For the Sangh, however, this does not apply to a Muslim,
whose nationalism can be questioned at every step.
Some
scholars have linked this move with the broader Indological project associated
with the New Education Policy (NEP 2020), which strives to promote ancient
Hindu civilisation as being the foundation of the idea of India.
Another
issue associated with madrasas is the aspect of 'modernisation', which has
always been discussed in government corridors. Though the Justice Rajinder
Sachar Committee busted the myth that most Muslim kids get their education in
local madrasas (only 4 percent do, the Committee had said), the idea to
mainstream and modernise these institutions had remained in use only to
'otherise' the minority community.
This has
been done by both the ruling party and so-called ‘secular’ parties who failed
to provide basic educational services in Muslim-dominated areas. Himanta Biswa
Sarma has already announced a separate bill to regulate and modernise private
madrasas as well.
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Also Read: When Assam Govt Decides To Shut down Madrasas Muslims
Agree on Madrasa Modernisation
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Why
Assam Govt’s Decision On State-Run Madrasas Can’t Be Seen In Isolation
In recent
times, the Vishva Hindu Parishad and other Hindu outfits have ramped up their
campaigns to amend Article 29 and 30 of the Indian Constitution, which allows
minorities to protect their culture and language and enjoy the right to
establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
Former
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also demanded that Article 30 should be
extended to Hindus as well.
Relying on
these laws, Muslim outfits in Assam are considering legal challenges to this
recent decision taken by the Assam government. Such cases would raise many
constitutional issues which are already being debated in the highest court of
India.
Though the
Modi government has not taken any direct step to amend Article 29 or 30, in the
recent past, they have challenged the minority character of Aligarh Muslim
University in the Supreme Court, citing ‘central aid’ to these academic
institutions.
The
decision has to be studied in light of the complex history of attacks on
minority rights in India. Be it ‘secularism’ or the aim to ‘modernise’
madrasas, the decision appears to be only a façade.
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Adil
Hossain, D Phil (University of Oxford), is Founder & Editor-in-Chief of
Khurpi. He is also a Commonwealth Scholar.
This is
an opinion piece, and the views expressed are the author’s own. New Age Islam
neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
Original
Headline: Assam Bill on Govt Madrasas:
Another ‘Attack’ On Minority Rights?
Source: The Quint
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/assam-government’s-‘secularism’-upgrades-sanskrit/d/123983