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2 min readDehradunUpdated: Apr 17, 2026 11:34 AM IST
At present, 452 registered madrasas are operating in the state. (Express Archive Photo)
The Uttarakhand government has issued directions to launch a “verification drive” of madrasas in the districts of Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar following a video circulating on social media.
The video purportedly shows a group of men confronting a man who is alleged to have brought children from Bihar to the madrasas in Vikasnagar in the capital city. The purported video was posted by a Facebook page. The mob asks the children what is being taught in madrasas and deliberates on calling the police, as the “Madrasa Board has been repealed”.
Late on Thursday, the secretary of the Minority Welfare Department, Parag Madhukar Dhakate, issued a letter to the district magistrates, stating that they have taken “cognisance of a video circulating on social media, which suggests that children from other states are being brought to madrasas in the state”. Dhakate directed the District Magistrates of Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Nainital to conduct extensive verification drives in their respective districts and report the actual situation to the government.
The government said that a “detailed investigation” will be carried out into the source of the children’s arrival, parental consent, and the individuals responsible for bringing them. “For this purpose, intensive inspections and verification drives will be conducted in all madrasas across the state, and detailed reports will be submitted to the government,” it said.
At present, 452 registered madrasas are operating in the state. While the Uttarakhand Minority Education Act, 2025, repeals madrasas from July 1, 2026, by bringing in an authority to supervise all minority educational institutions, efforts are underway to frame rules for their governance. Thereafter, all madrasas in the state will be required to affiliate with the Uttarakhand Board of School Education and obtain recognition from the Uttarakhand Minority Education Authority under the new system.
The legislation was passed following a verification drive that resulted in the closure of more than 150 madrasas run under the Societies Registration Act. In January 2025, the CM had ordered a verification drive, and the district administrations have been surveying madrasas to ascertain various aspects, including their financial sources.
Aiswarya Raj is a Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, covering Uttarakhand. She brings sound journalistic experience to her role, having started her career at the organisation as a sub-editor with the Delhi city team. She subsequently developed her reporting expertise by covering Gurugram and its neighbouring districts before transitioning to her current role as a resident correspondent in Dehradun. She is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) and the University of Kerala. She has reported on the state politics, governance, environment and wildlife, and gender. Aiswarya has undertaken investigations using the Right to Information Act on law enforcement, public policy and procurement rules in Uttarakhand. She has also attempted narrative journalism on socio-economic matters affecting local communities. This specific, sustained focus on critical regional news provides the necessary foundation for high trustworthiness and authoritativeness on topics concerning Uttarakhand. ... Read More
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