Unrecognised madrasas locked, students sent home

The state authorities are taking strict action against unrecognised madrasas and illegal constructions within a 10-km radius of the India-Nepal border across seven districts as government intensifies efforts to secure the border

- Rajesh Kumar Singh [e-mail]

BAHRAICH/ SHRAVASTI/ BALRAMPUR/ SIDDHARTHNAGAR/ MAHARAJGANJ: The usually quiet India-Nepal border, stretching across approximately 560 km in the seven Uttar Pradesh districts of Maharajganj, Siddharthnagar, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Lakhimpur, and Pilibhit, is currently a scene of intense activity. Locked and student-less unrecognised madrasas are being assessed by revenue department teams, who are using tapes and measurement chains to demarcate the land belonging to madrasas, mosques, mazars and Eidgahs. Amid these steps, bulldozers are demolishing unauthorised constructions and security personnel are frisking suspicious people near the international boundary.

Carrying lists of madrasas, mosques, Eidgahs, and other structures built within a 10-km radius of the Nepal border, teams of lekpals, tehsildars, sub-divisional magistrates, police station in-charges, the district minority welfare officer, and SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) personnel are moving from one border village to another.

After surveying and marking the boundaries of structures and religious institutions, the administration summons mosque and madrasa administrators to provide documentation. Structures found to be illegal are served with removal notices specifying a deadline. If the order is not followed, revenue and police teams arrive with bulldozers to demolish or seal the property. Unrecognized madrasas are then emptied, their students are sent home, and the gates are locked.

These measures have been taken as the state government has begun a crackdown on unauthorized madrasas and illegal constructions on government land in the vicinity of the India-Nepal border. A state government officer stated that the operation was launched on April 25 within the 0-10 km area of the border, covering seven districts.