30-year-old madrasa demolished, 170 sealed in India amid crackdown on Muslim institutions

A 30-year-old madrasa in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district was demolished after authorities declared the structure illegal under the recently passed Waqf Amendment Bill, which aims to bring Muslim endowments under tighter government control.

The seminary’s owner reportedly demolished the structure himself after the local municipal administration deemed it illegal. The demolition was also approved by the local panchayat.

Meanwhile, a broader crackdown unfolded in Uttarakhand, where 170 madrasas have been sealed for allegedly lacking registration with the Uttarakhand Madrasa Board or the state education department.

However, local Muslim clerics argue that the demolitions are part of a wider effort to target Muslim religious institutions.

Read: Indian Muslims outraged as Modi govt seeks to seize their endowments through Waqf Bill

The closures affected seminaries across Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and particularly Banbhulpura in Haldwani.

State officials have formed teams to identify unregistered madrasas, and 79 institutions have reportedly been sealed so far.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that he would not allow children to be exposed to "radicalism" in these institutions.

India’s Parliament passed the controversial Waqf Amendment Bill on April 4. The new law gives the government more control over waqf properties, Muslim religious endowments, estimated to be worth over $14 billion.

However, the opposition parties and Muslims opposed the bill, describing it as an attempt to weaken the constitutional rights of India’s largest minority.