Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has abolished the state’s Madrasa Board, mandating that all madrasas transition to the Uttarakhand Education Board curriculum by July 2026.
Addressing an event in Haridwar, Dhami called the decision a “historic step” towards updating education to modern standards and warned that institutions found non-compliant will be shut down in an effort to provide equal learning opportunities, regardless of their religious backgrounds.
The announcement received major support from several Hindu religious leaders attending the event. Swami Chidanand Muni praised the move as a way to integrate students into the national mainstream, advocating for a curriculum that balances modern subjects with spiritual values.
Mahant Ravindra Puri, however, took a more hardline stance, associating madrasas with social unrest and demanding a nationwide ban.
From the Muslim community, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali condemned the decision as “unlawful,” maintaining that reforms were possible without dissolving the board.
Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, similarly, questioned the decision’s necessity, suggesting that the existing board could have been used to regulate changes.
The Madrasa Board will officially be dissolved from July 2026.
Hindutva workers threaten Madrasa students
Even before the board’s abolition into effect, madrasa students have been facing harassment by far-right-wing workers. In one such incident, Bajrang Dal confronted a group and their adult supervisors in the middle of the road.
“Hamara piyoge, hamara khaoge. Toh bhi kaafir hum ko bologe? (You will eat ours, drink ours and still call us Kaafir),” said the Bajrang Dal leader, accusing the students of calling him a “non-believer.”
The man showed the Quran to the camera, saying, “This is not the CBSE board, not the Uttarakhand board.”
The worker intimidated the group, including minor children and questioned them about what they were taught in such schools. When the supervising adults explained that they were taking the students to a madrasa from Bihar, the Bajrang Dal member said, “But the Madrasa Board is finished now, right?”
While another member stated that no child in the group has a biodata, and “it’s been 30 minutes and they still won’t show their Aadhaar cards.”
The Bajran Dal leader repeatedly claimed that the students are not allowed to study in the madrasa due to its dissolution. However, the decision does not come into effect until July 2026.
He alleged that multiple groups of madrasa students from different states have been entering Uttarakhand to study in the religious schools. A Muslim man accompanying the students even said one of them was his own son; however, the Bajrang Dal members remained unsatisfied over the other children’s presence.
“Dehradun ko kya samajh rakha hai? Madrasa toh tumhare Bihar me bhi hai bhai (What have you thought of Dehradun? Nadrasas are there in your Bihar also),” the Hindutva man said.
He further questioned the students and found out that madrasas do not have distinct class levels. “Madraso me koi class nai hai. This 15-year-old kid is here, and he has no idea about his class.”
“Quran me kya padha jaata hai? (What does the Quran teach),” another Bajrang Dal member asked a different student, who replied, “We are taught our religion, we are taught that we will attain paradise by reading the Quran.”
They also asked whether the students are taught English in the madrasas. “They have taken control over our Dev Bhoomi entirely!” the leader said.
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