New Delhi, Aug 18 Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat on Monday criticised the state government’s decision to scrap the long-standing Madarsa Education Board Act and replace it with the Uttarakhand Minority Educational Institutions Bill, 2025. He alleged that the move was aimed at diverting public attention from pressing issues such as unemployment, inflation, and migration.
Former CM Rawat, while reacting to the decision taken by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s Cabinet, said that the new Act is nothing more than a political strategy to create a fresh agenda for the ruling BJP.
Speaking to IANS, Harish Rawat said, “A government that has nothing to say on real issues comes up with such steps. They have failed to control corruption, unemployment is rising every day, atrocities on women are increasing, and inflation is burdening the common people. Migration from the hill regions continues unchecked. In such a situation, this new law is only a distraction to mislead people from the core problems.”
According to him, the Bill will harm the educational system of the state instead of improving it.
“This will definitely have a negative impact on education in Uttarakhand. The BJP will showcase this decision as an achievement, but it will not bring any relief to common people. It is solely for the benefit of the Dhami government,” he added.
Rawat further argued that the Bill will not truly benefit any minority community.
“This is not a decision, it is just a diversionary tactic. There are thousands of unresolved issues before the government. This Bill will neither help Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Christians nor any other community. Its only outcome will be to strengthen the political standing of the ruling BJP while damaging the education system of the state,” he said.
Congress leader Hussain Dalwai also questioned the government’s intentions behind the move.
“Who goes to madrasas? It is the poor who send their children there. If the government is taking this step to improve educational standards and provide modern education, then that is welcome. But it must be applied fairly, because like madrasas, there are educational institutions belonging to other religions too,” Dalwai told IANS.
The Uttarakhand government, however, defended the decision, calling it a “landmark reform” in minority education. The Dhami Cabinet, during its meeting on Sunday, approved the proposal to repeal the Uttarakhand Madarsa Education Board Act of 2016 and introduce the Uttarakhand Minority Educational Institutions Act.
The new legislation, expected to be tabled during the state Assembly session starting Tuesday in Gairsain, seeks to bring all minority educational institutions under one umbrella. Unlike the existing system where only Muslim institutions benefited, the new Bill will extend recognition and support to educational establishments run by Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis as well.
Under the provisions of the Bill, a regulatory authority will be created to oversee minority educational institutions across the state. This will replace the existing Madarsa Education Board, which currently governs 452 registered madrasas in Uttarakhand. As per the Cabinet decision, the Madarsa Board will cease operations by July 1, 2026.
The decision comes in the wake of the CM Dhami government’s crackdown on several “illegal madrasas” in the state. Officials argue that the new law is intended to establish a transparent framework for recognising and monitoring institutions run by all minority groups, thereby eliminating irregularities.
The Cabinet resolution also calls for the repeal of the Uttarakhand Non-Government Arabic and Persian Madarsa Recognition Rules, 2019. Both the 2016 and 2019 regulations will be deemed null and void effective July 1, 2016. This means that no separate education Board or recognition rules will exist for madrasas in the state after the new Act comes into force.
While the government is hailing the move as an inclusive step, the Opposition remains unconvinced.
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