On February 27, a day before the Uttarakhand government started its drive to seal “unrecognised madrasas”, the Madarsa Board Recognition Committee, a government-appointed panel which is supposed to grant and renew recognition to the institutions, met and examined 147 applications received as far back as 2013. Of these, 99 were approved. This was the committee's first meeting since it last met in 2020, The Indian Express has learnt. The meeting came two months after the Principal Secretary first directed the district administrations to find “unregistered” madrasas and maktabs, which are centres for religious learning that work only in the morning or evening. The Indian Express has learnt that at least six of the madrasas the committee granted recognition to were still sealed by district administrations, with stakeholders saying the recognition committee dragging its feet is to blame. More than 170 madrasas have been sealed in the state since CM Pushkar Singh Dhami issued directions to this effect in December 2024. According to the minutes of the February 27 meeting, the Recognition Committee examined 88 requests for new recognition and 59 for renewal of recognition. It approved 49 applications for new recognition and 50 for renewal, yet some of the madrasas were sealed before recognition certificates granted by the Board could reach them. For instance, in Dehradun, five madrasas awaiting recognition were sealed on March 10 and 11, while their recognition certificates reached them on March 15. The institutions are still sealed. When contacted, the Dehradun minority welfare officer, Jagdish Rawat, said that the madrasas can send an application if they want to get unsealed. “Once we get the application, we will check and open them accordingly,” Rawat, who is a part of the committee conducting the drive, said. He said that the recognition certificate arrived after the sealing, which led to the oversight. In Udham Singh Nagar’s Kichha, a madrasa was sealed on March 21. Speaking to The Indian Express, its manager, Mohammad Saheer, said they applied for recognition in October 2024 and received confirmation on February 27. “On March 15, we received the certificate of recognition. On March 20, an intelligence officer visited and we showed him the documents, but the next day, it was sealed,” he said, adding that he met authorities and it took seven days for the madrasa to be unsealed. Raees Ahmad Siddiqui’s madrasa in Udham Singh Nagar was sealed the same day. “We applied for recognition in 2023, but the file is with the minority welfare officer. We have not heard back from them yet. If they are closing madrasas, they should factor this in. If there are shortcomings, they should inform us so we can rectify them. There has been no communication from the authorities since the file was received two years ago,” he said. In Haridwar, a madrasa was sealed while awaiting an inspection by the Madrasa Board, the minutes of the February 27 meeting state. Meanwhile, three other madrasas were awaiting recognition when they were sealed, the district administration said. The registrar of the Madarsa Board and additional secretary of the Minority Welfare Affairs Department, Rajendra Kumar, did not respond to calls and messages seeking a comment on why the committee has not held a meeting in five years. Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind state secretary Khurshid Ahmed said, “If they mandate registration under the Madarsa Board, the committee should be proactive in granting recognition. The board waited till the last minute to meet and the government sealed institutions that received their certificates. This will delay the education of children, and the proposed rehabilitation of these children has not yet begun,” he claimed. The Jamiat has approached the Supreme Court challenging the sealing drive. The committee The Recognition Committee was first constituted in 2013 and held meetings in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In these meetings, recognitions were granted to applicants according to the madrasa rules of Uttar Pradesh. In 2019, the Uttarakhand Non-Governmental Arabic and Persian Madrasa Recognition and Regulations were notified, and the committee examined applications in 2019 and 2020. Following this, while the Board was reconstituted and a new chairman given charge in 2023, the recognition committee failed to meet until February 27, 2025. According to the rules, the committee has to have a member nominated by the 13-member Board, an “academician-rank” member of the Board, the deputy registrar of the Board, and a “headmaster-rank” member of the Board. Though the minutes of the February 27 meeting state that applications received as far back as 2013 were considered, the Board chairman, Mufti Shamoon Qasmi, said they received "147 applications in five years". “We have tried to modernise education and help children assimilate with the mainstream. The file for recognition comes through the district minority welfare departments, and they verify the madrasas before we grant them recognition. Our duty is to grant recognition and conduct exams, and we have been carrying it out diligently,” he said.
