A joint fact-finding team from the CPI(ML) Liberation and Insaaf Manch has released a report on 24 June, condemning the bulldozer campaign being carried out by the Uttar Pradesh government against mosques, mazars and madrasas across the Terai belt, particularly in the districts of Bahraich, Shravasti and Siddharthnagar.
The investigation team conducted field visits between 20 and 22 June to assess the ongoing demolition and sealing of religious and educational institutions. In a joint press conference held today, CPI(ML) State Secretary Sudhakar Yadav and Insaaf Manch State Convenor Afroz Alam revealed disturbing findings and described the government's actions as unconstitutional and communally motivated.
The report highlights that in districts such as Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj, religious structures and madrasas have been served demolition notices under the pretext of being situated on encroached land or lacking formal recognition. These notices have often been followed by immediate demolitions, without adequate legal process or opportunity to respond.
In Bahraich and Shravasti alone, over 500 madrasas have been shut down, and approximately 60 mazars, mosques, Eidgahs and madrasas have been demolished. As a result, the education of more than 50,000 children has been disrupted. The report states that the government’s campaign violates the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits the alteration of religious sites as they stood on 15 August 1947.
One notable case cited is the demolition of the 500-year-old dargah of Syed Hashim Ali Shah, also known as Lakkad Shah, in Bahraich. Many of these demolitions have taken place without proper hearings or due process. In several instances, notice and demolition occurred on the same day, in violation of legal norms and Supreme Court guidelines under Section 67.
The team found that in Shravasti, nearly 300 madrasas were served identical notices on 25 April, many of which were not even delivered. To date, 32 have been demolished, 130 sealed by tehsil authorities, and many others forcibly shut down without any legal notice. Only nine madrasas remain operational in the district.
The team also examined videos and social media posts featuring Bahraich’s District Minority Welfare Officer, Sanjay Mishra, confronting madrasa teachers during inspections and posting footage online to publicly target these institutions. The report says this has contributed to a hostile atmosphere against madrasas.
CPI(ML) and Insaaf Manch leaders noted that the Yogi Adityanath government is blatantly violating the constitutional rights of Muslims to practice their religion and access education. They demanded the immediate dismissal of Bahraich’s District Minority Welfare Officer for acting with communal bias and called for an end to the campaign against madrasas and religious sites across the Terai districts. They further demanded the immediate lifting of the freeze on madrasa recognition and renewal and called for steps to regularise and support these institutions instead of targeting them.
The leaders also condemned the state government's plan to merge and shut down thousands of government schools, calling it a move that will deprive children from poor and marginalised backgrounds of access to education.
The joint fact-finding team included Afroz Alam (State Convenor, Insaaf Manch), Rajesh Sahni (State Standing Committee, CPIML), Comrade Ramlaut (State Committee, CPIML) and Jamal Khan (District In-charge, CPIML Gonda), all of whom were present at the press briefing.
