Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced that the Madrasa Board in the state will be abolished, with all madrasas required to adopt the Uttarakhand Board curriculum from July 2026.
Addressing an event in Haridwar, Dhami said the move was aimed at ensuring uniform and modern education for all students. He warned that madrasas failing to implement the state board syllabus would face closure.
“Taking another historic decision in the state, we have decided to dissolve the Madrasa Board, which has been operating here for many years. From July 2026, all madrasas in Uttarakhand will teach the syllabus prescribed by the Uttarakhand Education Board. Institutions that fail to implement this will be closed,” he said.
The announcement drew support from several Hindu religious leaders present at the event.
Swami Chidanand Muni of Parmarth Ashram welcomed the move, saying it would help integrate students into the national mainstream. He said that combining modern education with spiritual values would enable students to develop a broader understanding of the country and the world, rather than being confined to limited subjects.
“They will not only receive religious education but also study science, mathematics, geography and national issues. This will ensure they gain knowledge not just about a narrow subject, but about the entire nation and the world,” he said.
Another seer, Mahant Ravindra Puri, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, took a harsher stance, linking madrasas to various forms of “jihad” and calling for their closure across the country. The saints also made remarks advocating restrictions on the presence of people from other religions in “Devbhoomi” states such as Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
“There is no need for madrasas in this land of the gods. Uttarakhand and Himachal are Devbhoomi, protected by divine forces. People of other religions should not be allowed here,” said Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Swami Kailashanand Giri.
There has been no immediate response from opposition parties or Muslim organisations regarding the Chief Minister’s announcement or the remarks made at the event.
Muslim community leaders had strongly opposed the move when the BJP government had earlier floated the idea of scrapping the board.
Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, had said, “The decision of the Uttarakhand government to abolish the Madrasa Board is unlawful in itself.”
All India Muslim Jamaat National President Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi questioned the need for such a change and remarked that any reforms could have been implemented through the Madrasa Board itself.
“So why was there a need to introduce a separate Minority Education Bill and dissolve the Madrasa Board? If the Uttarakhand government genuinely wanted to work for the interests of minorities, the Madrasa Board could have been used to implement policies, conduct exams and manage all related matters,” he had asked earlier.
The decision to scrap the Madrasa Board will come into effect from July this year in Uttarakhand.
