By Aliza Noor & Abubakar Makrani
There has been an official crackdown on allegedly “illegal” Madrassas in Uttarakhand, days after the Waqf Amendment Act came into force. But documents accessed by The Quint, testimonies of a Madrassa’s caretaker, among others in the state paint a complex picture.
The district administration along with the police has sealed 173 Madrassas in their recent move. Thirteen “illegal” madrassas were sealed by the Nainital district administration in Haldwani’s Banphoolpura, earlier 21 Madrassas were sealed in Nainital as well. This has put the current existence and the future of many Madrassas in danger.
Additionally, the state government has removed over 560 mazars allegedly “built illegally on government land.”
Interestingly, the current clampdown of investigating and sealing Madrassas has not been because of any new press release by the Chief Minister’s office but an old one from four months ago.
The press release, as accessed by The Quint was dated 23 December 2024. On the basis of a report filed in ‘Hindustan Dainik Samachar Patr,’ a high-level committee should be formed to investigate the Madrassas operating without registration. The report was to be filed within 10 days.
However, this has been seen as a deliberate attempt to target the Madrassas, even those who have the documents in place, adding to the anti-Madrassa rhetoric in Uttarakhand.
This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here.
