Security agencies are working overtime these days
along the Indo-Nepal border, the reason being the growth of large
number of Madrassas that have come up in a disproportionate way and are
not proportional to the Muslim population in the area.

Some
of the Madrassas or Islamic seminaries are believed to be the safe
houses for the militant groups, who were trying to set up the bases in
the Himalayan kingdom and operate from there, says a top security
official said.

"Setting up of Madrassas is nothing wrong. But
what is worrying us is the Madrassas are not proportionate to the
Muslim population in the area," he said.

On the Indian
side the Islamic seminaries have come up in Uttar Pradesh's Basti,
Siddharth Nagar and Balrampur districts while in Nepal, the Madrassas
are concentrated on Jhanda Nagar and Barhi-Krishna Nagar areas.

Maloy Krishna Dhar started life off as a junior
reporter for Amrita Bazaar Patrika in Calcutta and a part-time lecturer. He
joined the Indian Police Service in 1964 and was permanently seconded to the
Intelligence Bureau.

During his long stint in the Bureau, Dhar saw action in almost all Northeastern
States, Sikkim, Punjab and Kashmir. He also handled delicate internal political
and several counterintelligence assignments. After retiring in 1996 as joint
director, he took to freelance journalism and writing books. Titles credited
to him are Open Secrets-India's Intelligence Unveiled, Fulcrum of Evil —
ISI, CIA, al-Qaeda Nexus, and Mission to Pakistan. Maloy is considered a top
security analyst and a social scientist who tries to portray Indian society
through his writings.