The Assam unit of Jamiat Ulama has criticised Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for indicating Arabic is redundant for madrasas in the State.
In a discussion on education in the Assembly last week, Mr. Sarma questioned the need for madrasas in Assam to teach Arabic.
“Is Assamese taught in Saudi Arabia that we should teach Arabic in Assam? It should be quid pro quo,” he said.
This angered some Congress and All India United Democratic Front legislators. “Why then should we learn English when Assamese is not taught in England?” asked Rockybul Hussain of the Congress.
Abdul Khaleque, another Congress MLA, said learning Arabic helped many youth of Assam get jobs in Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries where the language was spoken and understood.
“Why do you get provoked when I speak of Arabic. Are you citizens of Arabia? I am batting for modernising madrasas where mathematics, science and English are taught as well as Islamic texts, but in Assamese,” Mr. Sarma countered.
On Sunday, the Jamiat said Mr. Sarma’s comment on Arabic was uncalled for. “Arabic is not only a religious language. It is an international language recognised by the United Nations, and is used in 54 countries,” said Maulana Fazlul Karim Qasimi, secretary of the Jamiat’s State unit.
Mr. Qasimi pointed out Arabic was not for Muslims only. “Eight Hindu boys secured letter marks [80% or more] in Arabic from Shilaguri High Madrasa in Sipajhar ]north-central Assam],” he said.
Mr. Sarma justified his view by saying Arabic as well as Sanskrit has no takers in institutes of higher education. “We pay ₹1.5 lakh as salary for each Arabic and Sanskrit teacher in colleges, though there aren’t the minimum 10 students per teacher,” he said.
Stirs row
Mr. Sarma had last year stirred a controversy by saying the State government would disband madrasa and Sanskrit boards and ‘mainstream’ them. He had earlier asked madrasas across the State to stop remaining shut on Fridays and shift their weekly off day uniformly with other educational institutions to Sunday.
Assam had set up the Madrasa Education Board in 1934 with nine schools under it. After Independence, it was renamed as State Madrasa Education Board that now controls more than 700 madrasas.
