11 Unregistered Madrasas Sealed In Dehradun: Muslim Groups Protest While Uttarakhand Madrasa Board Backs Move

On 28 February, the district administration issued an order that led to the closure of 11 madrasas in Dehradun. The reason provided was a lack of registration with either the state madrasa board or the education department, as per The Indian Express.

Before the local body elections in January, the state government initiated a verification drive and disclosed data from Dehradun. Savin Bansal, the Dehradun District Magistrate (DM), revealed that there were 16 unregistered and eight registered madrasas in Sadar Dehradun tehsil, 34 unregistered and 27 registered madrasas in Vikasnagar tehsil, one registered and six unregistered madrasas in Doiwala, and a single unregistered madrasa in Kalsi.

Of the 11 madrasas closed recently, nine are in Vikasnagar tehsil, while two are in Doiwala and Sadar. This comes after Vikasnagar Sub-District Magistrate (SDM) Vinod Kumar's report submitted in November last year listed madrasas were running without registering.

"A team comprising the education, minority welfare, revenue departments and the police was formed for inspection. Following this, a report was submitted, and it was found that 20 madrasas in Vikasnagar were operating without registration,” Kumar was quoted as saying by IE.

“After the inspection, a few madrasas complied and registered with the departments. After raids were conducted following a DM order on 28 February, we sealed nine madrasas after violations were found,” he added.

Upon receiving a report from the Dehradun District Magistrate which revealed that 57 unregistered madrasas are operating in the district, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami pledged to investigate the "source of funding and the origins of such institutions".

During the execution of the sealing operation, protests were staged by Muslim groups in the city. President of Muslim Sewa Sangathan, Naeem Qureshi claimed that no recognition is required to operate a madrasa.

"We carried out a protest at the collectorate on Tuesday and one today at the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority for illegally sealing a mosque. We submitted a memorandum as well. We said that if they do not stop this illegal sealing, we will protest outside the secretariat," Qureshi was quoted as saying by IE.

However, Uttarakhand Madrasa Board chairman Mufti Shamoom Qasmi appreciated the exercise to merge the students with the “mainstream” and asserted, "The madrasas need to comply with norms, and the children should be allowed to follow modernity."

"Since 28 February, we have approved ‘recognition’ to 51 madrasas out of 88 applications. We have initiated the NCERT curriculum so they can get mainstream education along with religious education. The madrasas need to register with either the madrasa board or the education department," he told IE.

Qasmi even contemplates providing Sanskrit as an optional language, since it is the second language of the state and would help students in knowing the culture of "others". The Madrasa Board has proposed it to the education department and is ready to kickstart Sanskrit education after getting teachers from the education department.

State-sanctioned madrasas adhere to the educational boards specific to madrasa education, whereas the unrecognised ones adopt the curriculum set by larger seminaries like Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama and Darul Uloom Deoband.

The government of Uttar Pradesh had begun an examination of madrasas within its jurisdiction, a move that was subsequently mirrored by the Uttarakhand government.