BJP government shuts more madrasas in northern India

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A Hindu nationalist government in northern India has shut five more Islamic schools as part of an expanding crackdown on madrasas, months after dismantling the state body that had regulated Muslim religious education for years.

The latest closures in the state of Uttarakhand bring to 20 the number of madrasas shut or sealed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state introduced a new regulatory system that requires Islamic schools to seek fresh recognition from authorities.

The crackdown comes amid growing concerns among Muslims and rights advocates over a series of measures introduced by Hindu hardliner Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s government that analysts say disproportionately interfere with Muslim religious and community life.

Seventeen of the 20 madrasas targeted under the latest drive have been physically sealed by authorities, while the managements of three others were required to provide written undertakings confirming that they had stopped operating.

Three of the latest institutions targeted were in Dehradun, the state capital. Authorities sealed Madrasa Jamia-tus-Salam Al-Islamia, while two other institutions submitted written assurances that they had ceased operations.

Two more madrasas were sealed in Haldwani after officials claimed their management failed to produce recognition documents required under the state’s new minority education regime.

The closures follow Uttarakhand’s decision in July to become the first Indian state to abolish its statutory Madrasa Board, which had overseen recognized Islamic schools, and replace it with a single authority regulating educational institutions operated by all officially recognized religious minorities.

Before its abolition, 452 madrasas were registered with the board.

The BJP government had already conducted a separate campaign against madrasas it classified as unrecognized, sealing more than 200 institutions across the state.

The latest action extends scrutiny to schools that operated under the previous regulatory structure but must now secure recognition under the replacement system.

Dhami’s government says the changes are intended to enforce educational standards and bring minority institutions under a common regulatory framework.

But the chief minister has also repeatedly framed the madrasa campaign in ideological terms. Defending the policy, Dhami said there was “no justification for education inspired by tribal mentality and extremism” and ordered madrasas to teach the state-prescribed curriculum.

His characterization effectively associated traditional Islamic education with extremism while defending a policy overwhelmingly affecting Muslim institutions.

The crackdown forms part of a broader transformation of Uttarakhand under Dhami, whose government has pursued policies closely aligned with the Hindutva movement’s longstanding demands.

The state became the first in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code replacing religion-specific personal laws in areas including marriage and inheritance.

Authorities have also carried out extensive demolitions and actions against Muslim religious institutions and properties, measures that have repeatedly generated allegations of selective enforcement.

The BJP maintains that its policies are religion-neutral and aimed at enforcing uniform laws.

Observers, however, argue that ostensibly neutral regulations are increasingly being used to expand government control over Muslim institutions while Hindu majoritarian politics becomes more deeply embedded in the state’s governance.