Assam CM closed down 600 madrassas, intends to close all

Sarma says school, colleges and universities are more preferable and important

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, claimed on Thursday that he has closed 600 madrassas and plans to close all madrassas because he prefers schools, colleges, and universities.

Sarma claimed that people from Bangladesh come to the northeastern state and threaten its civilization and culture while speaking at a rally for 'Shiva Charithe' in Belgavi's Shivaji Maharaj Garden in poll-bound Karnataka. 

"Bangladeshis come to Assam and pose a threat to our civilization and culture. I've closed 600 madrassas and plan to close all of them because we don't want madrassas. "We want schools, colleges, and universities," Sarma was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.

Sarma claimed last year that Assam had become a hotbed of "jihadi activities" after five "jihadi" modules with links to Al Qaida-affiliated terror outfits in Bangladesh were busted. According to intelligence reports, at least six ABT members from Bangladesh entered India illegally between 2016 and 2017 to establish terror modules and sleeper cells by indoctrinating local youths in "jihadi" ideology, according to Sarma.

At Belgavi rally, Sarma also lashed out at the Congress and said the party showed that India's history was all about the Mughal emperors and added that it represents the "new Mughals today".

Accusing the Congress and Communists of emphasising the Mughals in Indian history, the Assam chief minister stated that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was also important in Indian history. 

"The Congress and Communists demonstrated that Babur, Aurangzeb, and Shajahan dominated Indian history. I'd like to point out that India's history was not about them, but about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Guru Gobind Singh, and others "He stated

. 

Sarma claimed that during Aurangzeb's reign, he attempted to eradicate the 'Sanatan' culture by forcibly converting people to Islam.