After ordering the sealing of 136 madrasas in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami Monday directed officials to probe the funding of the institutions, reported The Indian Express.
Since March, action has been taken against 136 madrasas that were ‘not registered with the education department or the Madrasa Board.’ Reports suggest that, according to government estimates, the state has around 450 registered madrasas while 500 are operating without the recognition of these two departments. However, these institutions are being run under the Societies Registration Act.
A statement put out by the state reportedly said, “Action against illegal madrasas, unauthorised shrines, and encroachments will continue. Unregistered madrasas have been reported in towns bordering Uttar Pradesh, and such unauthorised institutions pose a serious security concern.”
In January 2025, the CM had first directed ordered a ‘verification drive’, and the district administrations have been surveying madrasas to ascertain various aspects, including their financial sources. In Udham Singh Nagar, the government has sealed 64 madrasas; in Dehradun, 44; 26 in Haridwar; and two in Pauri Garhwal, officials said.
Khurshid Ahmed, the state secretary for Jamiat ulema-i-Hind, claimed that the exercise is illegal as the managers of these institutions are not given notices before they are closed. “For a large-scale drive like this, the government needs to pass an order, but that has not happened. The sealing is taking place during Ramadan when the children are away at their homes. Several institutions had closed after the year-end exams. What needs to be seen is if the children will be able to assimilate with other schools and curriculum when they get transferred,” he said.
Madrasa Board chairperson Mufti Shamoom Qasmi said that the children from the sealed madrasas will be transferred to schools and madrasas nearby, and urged the administration to initiate this action. “We will look into how many children study here after the report on the drive is submitted. The children are entitled to the right to education and we will make sure it is not violated,” he said.
The issue of inequitable comparisons between educational qualifications in a madrasa and a school, Qasmi said the education department will try to resolve this. It may be recalled that, in Uttar Pradesh, the government has awarded equivalence to Munshi and Maulvi curricula in class 10 and Alim in class 12. “A set of guidelines have been formed, which will bring the congruence. The Education Board headquartered in Ramnagar will resolve this and accord recognition,” he said.
In Uttarakhand, it was the DMs (Collectors) who conducted the state-wide inspection in all 13 districts, yet, the findings are not public. Recognised madrasas come under the state boards for madrasa education, while unrecognised ones follow the curriculum prescribed by the bigger seminaries such as the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama and Darul Uloom Deoband.
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