Guwahati: Assam’s education minister says the government money cannot be used to teach Quran in madarsas, Islamic schools.

“In my opinion, teaching Quran can’t happen at the cost of government money, if we have to do so then we should also teach both the Bible and Bhagavad Gita. So, we want to bring uniformity and stop this practice,” Himanta Sarma told reporters October 15.

Sarma, who is also a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, also said the Assam government has decided to shut down all madarsas in November. All government-aided madarsas in the northeastern Indian state will be converted into regular schools. In some cases, teachers will be transferred to state government schools, he added.

“All State-run madrassas will be converted into regular schools or in certain cases teachers will be transferred to state-run schools and madrassas will be shut down. A notification will be released in November,” said Sarma.

The minister also said that many Muslim boys open their Facebook accounts using Hindu names and then they fool the Hindu girls in getting married to them. These marriages are not authentic but a betrayal, he added.

“Many Muslim boys create Facebook accounts with Hindu names & post pictures of themselves at temples. Once a girl gets married to one such boy, she discovers that he is not from the same religion. This is a not a bona fide marriage but a breach of trust,” the minister said, adding that the state government has decided to act tough against any such marriage which has been solemnized on the basis of fraud.

Assam has 614 government-aided recognized madarsas including 57 for girls, three for boys, and 554 co-educational. A total of 17 madarsas teach students in Urdu medium.

The government decision has evoked mixed responses. The split has also opened up a poll of the secular people. They call the decision an injustice to minorities.

But the supporters of the government move say entry of religion into education is against secularism. True secularism, they say, is to free education from religion. Why should children be given religious education at government expense when the country mulls enacting Uniform Civil Code.

Assam is among 18 states where Madarsas get funds from the federal government.