Ten of these places are located in Haridwar district, four in Dehradun, two in Nainital and one in Udham Singh Nagar. Aurangzebpur in Haridwar has been renamed Shivaji Nagar, Ghaziwali as Arya Nagar, Khanpur as Shri Krishnapur and Khanpur Kursali as Ambedkar Nagar.

Likewise, Miyanwala in Dehradun will now be called Ramjiwala, Chandpur Khurd as Prithviraj Nagar, Nawabi Road in Nainital has a new name Atal Road and Panchukki Marg has been renamed Guru Golwalkar Marg after the second Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief.

“The changes have been made in accordance with the will of the people and per Indian culture and heritage of the country by honouring the great personalities,” claimed Dhami.

The Uttarakhand Chief Minister, who has launched a relentless anti-Muslim rhetoric even since he took over the reins in 2021, began with ‘Land Jehad’, ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Mazar Jehad’, ‘Thook Jehad’, implementation of the Uniform Civil Code ((UCC) and action against Madrassas.

Dhami is a young Hindutva icon of BJP-RSS who is credited with implementing the ‘Hindutva Gujarat Model’ in the hill state of Uttarakhand, reaping rich political dividends for this Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP officially lauded the state government for changing the names as part of the campaign to eradicate the “last vestiges of slavery.”

“Uttarakhand has announced the renaming of several locations across Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts. The new names reflect public sentiment and uphold India’s cultural and historical heritage. This initiative seeks to honour great personalities who have played a significant role in preserving Indian culture, inspiring future generations,” BJP leader and its IT cell chief Amit Malviya posted on X.

Rajput Community Miffed?

Interestingly, in its zeal to erase any Muslim-sounding or lslamic names, Dhami has also changed the name of ‘Miyanwala’ village near Dehradun which has nothing to do with Muslims. It was a Rajput village. The renaming of their village is brewing resentment among the Rajput community, which has demanded that the state government should refrain from renaming their village. The ‘Miyans’ are a famous Rajput clan in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh hills, known for their military valour.

Jai Singh Rawat, a senior journalist in Uttarakhand, said the state government should look into history and not act blinded by their opposition of anything that sounds Muslim. “The ‘Miyans’ are famous Rajput clan and Miyanwala is their village. The BJP-RSS think-tanks should educate themselves before acting impulsively in their anti-Muslim campaign,” he told this reporter.

The writer is a freelancer based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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The agitated Muslim community, which is at the receiving end of the state government’s ire as well as the Hindutva brigade led by the Sangh Parivar, staged a protest on March 4, 2025, in front of the office of the Dehradun District Magistrate, terming the administrative action as “draconian, undemocratic and unconstitutional.” The protest was led by the local unit of the Jammiat-Ulema-E Hind and Muslim Sewa Sangathan. The protesters courted arrest and were later let off by the police from police lines.

On instructions from Chief Minister Dhami, the state administration started action against ‘Madrassas’ and sealed five of them and giving notices to six others in village Dhakrani and Nawabgarh in Vikasnagar tehsil of Dehradun district and in Dehradun city as well. A mosque at Dhakrani has also been sealed off.

A team of local civil administration, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) and State Madrassa Board led by Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Vinod Kumar, had been raiding ‘Madrassas’ in Vikasnagar tehsil since March 1, 2025 leading to resentment amongst minority community.

The action comes in the backdrop of Chief Minister Dhami threatening action against Madrassas which, he claimed, were “running illegally”. Vinod Kumar, SDM, Vikasnagar, told the media that action had been taken against those Madrassas that were not registered with the state Madrassa Board or built without getting the map passed from the competent authorities.

Nayeem Quraishy, president, Muslim Sewa Sangathan, told reporters that the action by the administration was “unwarranted and without any prior notice”.

A memorandum addressed to the District Magistrate stated that the administrative action was a clear violation of guarantees provided under Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution for professing, propagating and teaching of religious studies.

Quraishy further said that the administration’s assertion of to seal the Madrassas not affiliated with Uttarakhand Madrassa Board was unlawful.

“These Madrassas are being run under the Societies Registration Act and Trusts and do not require affiliation with a government-managed institution. Interestingly, no legal order has been given for such sealing. The civil administration is passing the buck to MDDA, and we will start a protest against MDDA on Wednesday,” said Quraishy.

The recent onslaught on Madrassas is not new as since the advent of the BJP government in 2017,  there have been continuous attacks on Muslim and their institutions throughout the state. Chief Minister Dhami has himself spearheaded a campaign against the so-called ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Land Jehad’, ‘Mazar Jehad’ and ‘Thook Jehad’ since 2021.

The action against Madrassas was preceded by several anti-Muslim threats. Last week, Hindu Rakshak Dal, a Hindu outfit, suddenly announced to publicly recite the Hanuman Chalisa in front of the Dehradun Jama Masjid as they claimed that a two-minute Azaan (call to prayers) from the mosque was “disturbing” the general public.  The Hindu group was stopped by the police from approaching the mosque, and a case was registered on the complaint of the Muslim Sewa Sangathan, but no one was arrested.

Three weeks ago, on an alleged complaint of eve-teasing, members of an outfit called the Hindu Kali Sena publicly threatened a Muslim living and doing business in Nathuwala, near Doiwala. They allegedly smashed bill boards of Muslim-owned shops giving them an ultimatum to leave the area. A case was registered by the police and none has been arrested. Some out of the 30-odd Muslim families there have reportedly left the area out of fear.

In another case, Muslims of Raiwala, who had been performing Namaz at Prateek Nagar area since 1989, said they were asked by the Naib Tehsildar, Raiwala, to stop the prayers.

Abdul Aziz and Abdul Mazid, both managing the mosque, said they got notices on December 24, 2024, to stop the prayers. In their reply, they informed the SDM, Rishikesh, that Muslims had been holding prayers since 1989 at that place as per their constitutional right. Giving the reference of the Supreme Court judgement in Mohd. Sharif Versus state of UP and others delivered on January 28, 1999, the petitioner stated that stopping them from holding prayers in the mosque violated their fundamental right to pray, but to no avail.

Interestingly, since 2017, there have been a dozen verbal announcements by respective BJP Chief Ministers, including the present incumbent Dhami, of conducting a ‘survey’ of Madarassas.  After conducting such exercises countless times with the help of police and intelligence outfits since 2017, the outcome has not been made public.

The state government has not elaborated the reasons for such a proposed exercise, which has led the Muslim community to believe that the aim is “vilification and targeting” of the minority community.

The writer is a freelancer based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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A veteran ‘Sarvodaya’ worker, she celebrated the 98th birth anniversary of her husband, Sunder Lal Bahuguna, on January 9, 2025. She is survived by her daughter Madhuri Pathak, son in law B.C. Pathak and two sons, Rajeev Nayan Bahuguna and Pradeep Bahuguna, both journalists.

Vimla Bahuguna, a recipient of the Jamna Lal Bajaj Award for Development and Welfare of Women and Children in the year 1995, remained steadfast on her ideals and never wavered facing hardships in struggles that she participated in along with her husband.

Recalling his association with Vimla, Sunder Lal Bahuguna when alive before 2021, had said that belonging to a highly respectable family of Tehri, she went to study under the well-known Gandhian Sarla Behn at her Kausani Ashram.

Sarla Behn (born Catherine Mary Heilman; April 5, 1901 – July 8, 1982) was an English Gandhian social activist who, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, went to jail during the freedom struggle and later worked in the Kumaon region to help create awareness about environmental destruction in the Himalayan forests of the state till her death.

Vimla, her student, had come with her to Tehri to stage a play in support of the ‘Bhoodan Andolan’ (land donation) of Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Sunder Lal Bahuguna had said that he was conducting on stage and both, his father and Vimla’s father were in the audience. The elders of both the families decided to get them married but there was a big ‘no’ from Vimla. Since Sunder Lal Bahuguna at that time was also dabbling in Congress politics, Vimla put a condition that he would have to leave politics forever for social service, for which he finally agreed. Even Sarla Behn was reluctant on this marriage, but later agreed.

Sunder Lal Bahuguna and Vimla stayed at Silyara Ashram set up by Bahuguna as per the directions of Mahaama Gandhi for the uplift of the poor, downtrodden and Dalits and to protect the environment. Working for the ‘Sarvodya Andolan’, the couple plunged into environment protection following the reckless destruction of forests in the Himalayas. Sunder Lal Bahuguna died in 2021,

Vimla Bahuguna participated in the ‘Bhoodan Movement’ in Bihar in 1953- 55 where she came in contact with Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Jayaprakash Narayan and Dada Dharmadhikari, who were all impressed by her work. A constant companion and inspiration for Sunder Lal Bahuguna in his unrelenting struggles for environmental protection and Dalit uplift, Vimla also led the women of Garhwal Hills successfully in their fight against liquor.

She even had to go to jail once, along with her 6-year-old son. Vimla also persuaded and prevailed upon her old mother to join the campaign for prohibition. She inspired common village women to join the Chipko Movement and the prohibition campaign. Under her inspiration, thousands of women participated in the Tehri dam agitation in 1990 and 1990-91.

Vimla Bahuguna was awarded the Kheti Award by Indian Council of Agricultural Research in 1975 during International Women’s Year.

Adopting austerity and implementing Gandhian values throughout their lives was the hallmark of all the actions of the Bahuguna couple.

Vimla’s brother Vidya Sagar Nautiyal was an eminent Hindi writer and a communist party legislator from Devprayag in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. He was also elected the president of Banaras Hindu University Students’ Union in the sixties.

The writer is a freelancer based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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The retired Army officer was not only accused of having “a Pakistani connection and providing education to ‘Talibanis’” and also being “anti-Hindu”. While, the local police refused to help the beleaguered Army veteran by filing a case against such elements, he has been left to fighting a case in the local court for the past two years just to get a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against four alleged accused who, he says “created a nasty vilification campaign against the retired Muslim Army officer on social media, tried to inflame communal passions, gathered a mob against him with an alleged attempt to harm him and even blackmailed him to part with money.”

The former Army officer had to fight a long legal battle in the court of the Judicial Magistrate, Vikasnagar in Dehradun district for two years to get an order asking the police to lodge a case against four persons, namely, Rakesh Tomar alias Rakesh Tomar Uttarakhandi, Girish Chander Dalakot, Bhupendra Dogra and Solanki.

Finally, on December 7, 2024, the Vikasnagar police lodged a case under Sections 386, 505 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code against these persons, but till date no action has been taken against them.

Rakesh Tomar Uttarkhandi, president of the Rudra Sena, was also allegedly involved in the Purola ‘Love Jehad’ case and resultant targeting of Muslims in Uttarkashi district in the summer of 2023. The Purola case was later proved to be false and motivated in a court of law.

This is a story of Lt. Col. Abdul Qadir (retd), who has been running Bright Angels School, a prestigious senior secondary CBSE school in Vikasnagar town. The school is popular among all the sections of the society in the area. Qadir is a popular figure and had contested the Vikasnagar Assembly polls on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket in the 2007 Assembly elections and polled more than 8,000 votes. He later joined the BJP and being an educationist, was given a position of vice-chairman of the Muslim Education Mission, a state government body under then Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.  But that was long ago.

In his complaint to the police, Lt.Col. Abdul Qadir (retd) said that he had been running the school for the past many years. But trouble started on July 21, 2022, when the school management decided to call off the school at 12.30 on a Friday. The decision of the school management was criticised by some people and the school decided to take back the decision, seeking an apology if “anyone was hurt by such a decision”. The school management clarified that the decision was taken for the convenience of the staff and not for Friday ‘Jumma’ prayers, as alleged.

He further alleged in his complaint that Rakesh Tomar Uttarakhandi, along with his accomplices, continued a communal tirade against the school with an intention to cause a “communal riot by inciting people to gather at the school and to vilify the school through social media campaign.”

The retired Army officer stated that as a result of such a social media campaign against him, comments like “Is H****i ko G**li Mar do” were posted. On July 24, 2022, Rakesh Tomar Uttarkhandi, with alleged intention to cause harm to the owner and his school, gathered a mob but due to police presence, burnt an effigy of the school owner, as police looked the other way. Lt.Col Abdul Qadir (retd) has further alleged in his complaint that Rakesh Tomar Uttarakhandi sent a him message seeking a ransom of Rs. 10 lakh.

In his complaint in the court, the former Army officer said he had no idea that the alleged accused already had criminal cases registered against them. He alleged that the accused threatened him of “their reach on social media” and if he dared to complain against Uttarakhandi, he would “emerge as a hero” in the backdrop of Hindu-Muslim politics being played out in the hill state. The retired Army officer has sought action under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468. 471, 384, 120 B of IPC to be read with Section 67 of the IT Act.

The application in the local court was moved under Section 156 (3) of the Cr.Pc (criminal procedure code). He has also sought protection for him and his family under the given circumstances.

The Uttarakhand Police, despite filing a FIR on December 7, 2024, is yet to take any action against the accused.

Interestingly, Rakesh Tomar Uttarakhandi addressed media persons on Thursday evening and continued his tirade against the retired Army officer and his school, charging him of being “anti-Hindu” and “anti-national” and instead seeking action against him.

The writer is a freelancer based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Courtesy: NewsClick

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Addressing the Hindu Mahapanchayat, convened on the call given by Devbhoomi Vichar Manch and supported by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang dal and other affiliated organisations of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), T Raja, BJP legislator from Hyderabad known for his hate speeches in the past, said he had come to Uttarakhand to “awaken Hindus in the state”. He called upon them to get united.

Addressing the gathering, Raja advised the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to hold a dialogue with neighbouring Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over a cup and tea and get a cue on “how to tackle the issue of illegal mosques and mazaars”. Darshan Bharati, another hate monger from Uttarakhand, was also present during the mahapanchayat, as per media reports.

Suresh Chauhan, a ruling BJP legislator from Gangtori, said efforts should be made to declare Uttarkashi as a Hindu religious town since many revered Hindu shrine and temples were located in the district. He also called for complete ban on selling of meat, eggs and non-vegetarian food in the district.

On the issue of the Uttarakashi mosque, Chauhan said a re-inquiry, as ordered by the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, would be held and if any illegality was found, the mosque would be demolished. He also made a strong pitch against “outsiders” coming into Uttarkashi and getting involved in small businesses. Without naming Muslims, he warned locals against renting out their houses to “outsiders”.

Earlier, Congress party was attacked by the speakers, who drew parallels with ‘jehadis’ and terming the party as the “bane” of the entire Hindu community, responsible for the Partition of the country and resultant killing of Hindus and Sikhs.

Heavy security arrangements were made for the Hindu Mahapanchayat, which was called to demand demolition of the Uttarkashi mosque, which Hindutva forces claimed, was built illegally. Extra forces from neighbouring districts were also deployed in the town.

Interestingly, the Uttarakhand government gave permission for the Hindu Mahapanchayat despite giving an undertaking in the Nainital High Court last Wednesday that no permission had been granted.

Uttarkashi district administration gave permission with several conditions, which included not making any hate speech, not taking out any rally, not obstructing traffic, not inciting religious sentiments and maintaining peace.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal of Nainital High Court issued directives to the Uttarakhand government and state Director General of Police to maintain peace and security related to the ongoing agitation by Hindu outfits demanding the demolition of the 55-year-old mosque. The division bench had the heard a petition related to the case on November 22, 2024.

The police holding a march in Uttarkashi town a day before holding of Hindu Mahapanchayat.

Meanwhile, the ‘Alpsankhayak Seva Samiti’ had filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking its intervention in the issue alleging threats by the Sanyukt Sanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh, a Hindu outfit, against the Uttarkashi mosque and hate speeches directed against the minority Muslim community.  The petition had also sought the court’s intervention in preventing the Mahapanchayat called by the Hindu Right-wing groups in Uttarakashi on December 1, 2024.

Admitting the petition, the court directed the Uttarkashi District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police (SP) to ensure tight security around the Uttarkashi mosque. The court also directed the registry to list the petition as a fresh case on November 27, 2024.

In a hearing before the division bench of the High Court last Friday, senior counsels Kartikey Hari Gupta, Imran Ali Khan, Pallavi Bahuguna, Rafat Munir Ali, and Irum Zeba, representing the petitioners, raised serious concerns regarding hate speeches directed at Muslims.

The state government, through its counsel, informed the court that permission for holding any such Mahapanachayat would not be issued.

The senior counsels for the petitioners also pleaded that the  mosque on Bhatwari Road in Uttarkashi was constructed in 1969 on privately purchased land. It was further stated that “in 1986, the Assistant Waqf Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh conducted an inquiry and confirmed that a mosque existed on Khasra No. 2223, built by members of the Muslim community using charitable funds and used since then by the Muslims and in 1987 was officially registered as Wakf property.”

The petitioners alleged that members of the Sanyukt Sanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh and their associates had engaged in “extreme hate speech” against Muslims and the mosque which, they argued, were in complete violation of the directions issued by the Supreme Court in the case of Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay vs. Union of India Others.

The petitioners asserted that in September 2024, Hindu outfit leaders —Jitendra Singh Chauhan, Swami Darshan Bharti, Sonu Singh Negi, Lakhpat Singh Bhandari, and Anuj Walia—who identify themselves as members of the Sanyukt Sanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, began threatening to demolish the mosque. They alleged that these leaders had also spread false information about the mosque’s legality. The next date of hearing t is fixed for December 5, 2024.

Uttarkashi town saw violence on October 24, 2024, when Hindutva groups tried to take out a procession toward the mosque and had violent confrontation with the police force which tried to prevent them by erecting barricades. Several protestors and policemen were injured in the lathi-charge and police arrested eight Hindutva leaders and registered cases against 200 unidentified persons for violence.

Interestingly, Hindutva groups reportedly continued to spread their communal agenda despite the fact that the Uttarkashi district administration, after a through inquiry, found the mosque to be legal. But following the October 24 incident and pressure from Hindutva groups in the run-up to the Kedarnath bye-elections on November 20, Chief Minister Dhami went to Uttarkashi on November 6, in a bid to assuage the ‘hurt’ feelings of his fellow political travellers, and announced that the papers of the land on which the Uttarkashi mosque was built would be re-examined by the administration.

Uttarkashi Mosque

The Chief Minister, during his visit, reiterated that ‘land jehad’, ‘love jehad’ and ‘thook(spit) jehad’ would not be tolerated in ‘Devbhoomi’ Uttarakhand  and his government had “freed” 5,000 acres of encroached land. He further said that the administration would re-examine the land papers of the Uttarkashi mosque to see if there was any illegality.

A delegation of Hindu organisations, led by district BJP chief Satinder Rana, also met the Chief Minister and complained against police lathi charge on October 24. In a bid to “placate” them, the state administration acted swiftly, and finding no scapegoat, transferred a Muslim officer, Raza Abbas, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), to  the state headquarters in Dehradun, while Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Prashant Kumar, Uttarkashi was also attached with the police headquarters in Dehradun with immediate effect.

On November 28, 2024, before the proposed Hindu Mahapanchayat, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Amit Srivastava, who acted tough against any law breaker and was on the target of Hindutva groups, was also transferred and replaced by Sarita Dobhal.

The writer is a freelances based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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