Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has formally confirmed the abolition of the state’s Madrasa Board, requiring all madrasas to adopt the Uttarakhand Education Board curriculum from July 2026 or be shut down — making Uttarakhand the first state in India to dissolve its Madrasa Board entirely.
Addressing a public event in Haridwar on Sunday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that the Madrasa Board in the state will be abolished, with all madrasas required to adopt the Uttarakhand Board curriculum from July 2026 or face closure. Dhami described the decision as “historic,” stating that all madrasas must align with the state education board to bring students into the mainstream.
The legal foundation for this move was laid in October 2025, when Uttarakhand Governor Lt. Gen. Gurmeet Singh (Retd.) gave his assent to the Uttarakhand Minority Education Bill, 2025. With that approval, the Madrasa Education Board Act, 2016, and the Non-Government Arabic and Persian Madrasa Recognition Rules, 2019, are set to expire on July 1, 2026.
Uttarakhand will, as a result, become the first state in the country to dissolve its Madrasa Board and bring minority educational institutions into the mainstream education framework, according to an official press release from the state government.
New Authority Replaces the Board
In place of the Madrasa Board, the state government has constituted the Uttarakhand State Minority Education Authority, which will now oversee all matters related to minority educational institutions, including accreditation, curriculum design, and academic and administrative functions. All minority institutions will be brought under its umbrella, with their recognition processed through the Uttarakhand Board of School Education.
Retired Kumaun University professor Surjeet Singh Gandhi has been appointed as the first chairperson of the authority. Out of the eight appointed members, two belong to the Muslim community — retired professor Syed Ali Hamid of Kumaun University and Professor Robina Aman, head of the chemistry department at Soban Singh Jeena University.
From the academic session of July 2026, all minority schools will be required to adopt the National Curriculum Framework and the New Education Policy 2020. CM Dhami stated that the government’s goal is to ensure that every child in the state, regardless of their class or community, progresses with equal education and equal opportunities.
The decision has been hailed by several Hindu religious leaders. Swami Chidanand Muni of Parmarth Ashram welcomed the reform, highlighting that students would benefit from learning subjects like science, mathematics, and geography alongside spiritual teachings, helping them connect with wider national and global perspectives.
However, from the Muslim community, the decision received sever backlash. Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali condemned the decision as “unlawful,” maintaining that reforms to madrasa education were possible without dissolving the board altogether.
Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi similarly questioned the necessity of abolition, suggesting that the existing board could have been used as a vehicle to regulate and implement any changes the government considered necessary.
Harassment of Madrasa Students Already Underway
Even before the dissolution formally takes effect, the announcement has created conditions for harassment of madrasa students in the state.
In one documented incident recently, Bajrang Dal workers were seen confronting a group of madrasa students and their guardians in the middle of a road in Dehradun.
“Hamara piyoge, hamara khaoge. Toh bhi kaafir hum ko bologe? (You will eat ours, drink ours and still call us Kaafir),” said the Bajrang Dal leader, targeting the students for calling him a “non-believer.”
The Bajrang Dal leader claimed that the students were not permitted to study in a madrasa because of its dissolution, even though the decision does not come into legal effect until July 2026.
