By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 25 Feb: The Dehradun District Administration and the State Home Department had on the direction of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted a thorough investigation into illegal madrasas. The details of such madrasas operating illegally in and around Dehradun have already been gathered but follow up action is totally missing. Questions are now being raised about the administration’s lack of action against those identified in the verification. Various ‘Hindu’ organisations have now raised the issue and are demanding the closure of these illegal institutions.
It may be recalled that, a few weeks ago, Chief Minister Dhami directed the DGP and Chief Secretary to conduct a verification exercise regarding the madrasas operating in the state, particularly in and around Dehradun and Haridwar. Subsequently, the Dehradun Police-Administration conducted an investigation and sent the report to the government. This report includes madrasas operating without government permission, raising concerns about their curriculum.
Sources claim that the verification report has identified 125 madrasas in four areas of Dehradun district. In Vikas Nagar Tehsil, 78 madrasas have been identified, with only 18 being duly registered while 60 are stated to be operating illegally. These illegal madrasas are reportedly supported by institutions in Deoband, Saharanpur, and Delhi. In Dehradun Sadar, 33 madrasas have been identified. Of these, only 10 are duly registered while 23 are running illegally. No information has been disclosed about the funding sources for these illegal madrasas.
In Doiwala, six unregistered madrasas have been found. It is reported that more illegal madrasas operate in rural areas under the patronage of mosques. One illegal madrasa has been also found to be operating in Kalsi, Jaunsar Bawar area which is a predominantly a tribal area. In Doiwala and Kalsi, 684 and 55 children, respectively, are receiving Islamic education. The investigation report however lacks details on the curriculum being taught. Questions arise about how the national curriculum is being implemented in unrecognised madrasas.
A cause of concern is the fact that a significant number of illegal madrasas in Dehradun district are teaching children from other states. The administration’s report is also silent over why this is happening. It may be recalled that the whole issue had cropped up when Dr Geeta Khanna, Chairperson of the Uttarakhand Child Protection Rights Commission, (UCPRC) had informed the Dehradun Police Administration about an illegal madrasa with children from outside the state, leading to action by the SSP. This indicates ongoing issues in Dehradun’s illegal madrasas. Many kinds of irregularities were revealed in some of these madrasas raided by Dr Khanna.
Sources claim that that persistent strict action against illegal madrasas in Uttar Pradesh and Assam might have led to their relocation to Uttarakhand. It is being apprehended that, in the near future, children from other states studying in these madrasas may become Uttarakhand residents, contributing to demographic changes regarding which the CM has been regularly expressing concern. This issue is not confined to Dehradun, children from other states are found studying in madrasas across the state including Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar. The verification exercise so far has been basic in form and has not investigated the funding sources and the ownership of land on which these madrasas are operating.
The report has reached the government, but the future course of action remains uncertain. With the police investigation complete and the information on legal and illegal madrasas available, it remains to be seen what action the Uttarakhand government will take next in this regard.
