Guwahati, Jan 2: The BJP-ruled Assam government has started an experiment where Muslim community including the Bengali speaking Muslim have been made stakeholders in the government’s fight to eliminate radical elements in the state.

Meanwhile, the state government has taken tough stand against the radical elements which are trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Assam. The Assam police have launched a massive crackdown against the jihadis and, so far, many leaders associated with terror groups have been arrested.

A measure to de-radicalise the Madrassas and Private madrasa boards was initiated by the state police. They have to fill up a performa besides maintain a ledger book and also to give details on descriptions of the land.

Talking to media persons in Guwahati, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Last year, we cracked eight modules of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)/ Ansarullah Bangla Team, nine Bangladesh national involvement were identified. Around 51 people were arrested.”

He informed that Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta is working with Muslim community to rationalise the Madrassa education. “We are getting cooperation from them. Those who are running the Madrassa are making them as stakeholders rather than taking them as enemies,” CM Sarma said.

He further said, “There are areas where there is hardly any Hindu; we have started an altogether new experiment in our war against Jihadi and fundamentalist Muslim community including Bengali speaking Muslim as (they have been) made stakeholder; without this we cannot track those elements.”

“These people have created a positive, conducive environment. Rationalisation, inclusion of science and maths subjects respecting Right to education, reducing the number of Madrassa, database of teachers and making those teachers coming from outside mandatorily appear before police stations from time to time,” informed Sarma adding that “We have prepared a checklist however yet to ink an agreement”.

Around 2,500 madrassas are running in the state under private management.

Recently, a meeting was held between DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, state secondary education director Mamata Hojai and the representatives of five private madrassa education boards, where it was decided that before engaging any teacher from outside the state, the madrassas will have to seek police verification of the individual and that the distance between two madrassas will have to be three kilometres.

It was also decided in the meeting that each madrassa will have to have a minimum enrolment of 100 students. These private boards must upload the details of the madrassas affiliated to them by December 1.

The five private madrassa education boards are: All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qaumiya, All Assam Talimi Tarakkee Board, Madras Education Board All Hafis (Salafi), Adara Madaris Islamia and All Assam Ahle Sunat Madrasa.

Three madrassas were also demolished by the government in three districts of Assam in September last year for alleged radicalization of the students.

Earlier, the state government converted almost 400 provincialized madrassas into regular schools.