Uttarakhand: Minority Education Bill gets Cabinet nod, set to repeal Madrasa Act

The Uttarakhand Cabinet has approved the Minority Education Bill-2025, extending minority status benefits to institutions run by the Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, and Parsi communities in the state.

At present, the minority educational institution status is granted only to the Muslim community.

The bill will be introduced in the monsoon session of the Assembly starting from August 19. Once implemented, the Uttarakhand Madrasa Education Board Act, 2016, and the Uttarakhand Non-Government Arabic and Persian Madrasa Recognition Rules, 2019, will be repealed, effective July 1, 2026.

Official sources said the bill was approved during the Cabinet meeting held here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. After it is implemented, the study of the Gurumukhi and Pali languages will also be possible in recognised minority educational institutions.

This bill provides for the formation of an authority, making it mandatory for educational institutions established by all minority communities to obtain recognition from it, they said.

This authority will work to facilitate and promote educational excellence in these institutions so that the children of the minority community get quality education and their educational development can take place, the sources said.

The authority will grant recognition to the minority educational institution only when certain conditions are fulfilled by the applicant. If any condition is violated or the funds received from fees, donations, grants, or any other funding source are found to be misused, the recognition of that institution can also be terminated, they said.

The authority will ensure that education is imparted in these institutions according to the standards set by the Uttarakhand Board of School Education, and the evaluation of the students is fair and transparent.

Once enacted, it will be the first such Act in the country that aims to establish a transparent process for granting recognition to educational institutions established by minority communities in the state as well as ensure quality and excellence in education, the sources said.

Reacting to this decision of the Cabinet, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat called the BJP narrow-minded and asked why it is averse to Urdu words like 'madrasa'.

Rawat told reporter, "BJP people are narrow-minded. Madrasa is an Urdu word, and Urdu is the product of Ganga-Jamuni culture. Madrasas have their own history associated with the country's freedom struggle. ... Why do you have a problem with the Urdu word?"

Asked if it was an attempt by the government to abolish madrasas, Rawat said, "This is their intention. But they will not be able to do it."

On the other hand, Uttarakhand Madrasa Board President Mufti Shamoon Qazmi welcomed the decision and said, "This will greatly benefit all communities, especially Muslims, in the coming times. They will get quality education." He stressed that the move would not affect religious education, and it would continue as before.