By Ghalib Shams
In Assam, Muslim madrassas and mosques have come under increasing government scrutiny. Between November 2023 and July 2025, many such institutions were reportedly targeted during a series of state-led eviction drives.
Assam’s Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has been an outspoken critic of madrassas and has often been accused of making inflammatory remarks about Muslims. In one of his statements, he said, “The word ‘madrassa’ itself should be erased, because as long as children think of madrassas, they will never become doctors or engineers.”
Ground reporting from across Assam reveals a sharp decline in the presence of Islamic educational institutions. Official figures suggest that around 130 madrassas and maktabs have been demolished so far, while all 1,281 government-run madrassas have been converted into regular public schools.
Assam’s Madrassas: History and Law
Madrassas have a long and established history in Assam. Islamic education was formally incorporated into the state’s curriculum in 1934, the same year the Assam Madrassa Board was founded. The curriculum underwent its first major revision in 1977, and in 1995, the state government granted official recognition to madrassas, categorizing them into three levels: Pre-senior (grades 6–8), Senior (grades 8–12), and Title madrassas (undergraduate and postgraduate levels).
In addition, four Arabic colleges were established, offering education from the middle-school level through to postgraduate studies.
In 2018, Assam’s then Education Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, restructured the state’s Madrassa Board and introduced further changes to its curriculum. But just two years later, the government took a sharp turn.
This story was originally published in beyondheadlines.in. Read the full story here.
