Bahraich/ Shravasti/ Balrampur/ Siddharthnagar/ Maharajganj, May 10 -- 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 (Sashasthra 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. In 10 days, hundreds of unrecognised madrasas have been sealed and illegal structures demolished as part of an effort to clear encroachments from government land. Furthermore, madrasas, mosques, and structures situated near the no-man's land of the international border are also on the radar. In Bhartha Roshangarh village, Shravasti district, the district administration razed a portion of a mosque that had encroached on the no-man's-land. The madrasa within the mosque premises has also been locked. According to Ashfaq Ahmed, the head of the masjid committee, the 100-year-old mosque was recently surveyed by the sub-divisional magistrate and revenue department staff. Following the measurement, they informed the committee that the mosque's boundary wall encroached on the no-man's-land. While the authorities ordered demolition, the masjid committee opted to voluntarily raze the wall, Ahmed stated. "The madrasa running in the premises of the mosque was closed by the district administration. The madrasa is registered with the Registrar Firms, Societies and Chits office in Ayodhya. We had applied for affiliation with the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education two years back, but the matter is still pending. Instead of taking action against the unrecognised madrasas, the state government should clarify why our affiliation application has been kept pending," he said. With the madrasa now closed, its students have been sent home and the teachers are on leave. Despite the presence of a functioning madrasa across the no-man's-land in Nepal, the enhanced security measures and increased patrols by the Sashastra Seema Bal and district police have resulted in children avoiding crossing the border to attend Nepalese madrasas, Ahmed explained. Noor Ali, the gram pradhan of Shahpur Pure Shivdeen village near the India-Nepal border, claimed that the district administration sealed their recognised madrasa. "We were asked to submit land ownership papers, but the tehsildar informed the land belonged to the government, not the madrasa. Over 100 students, mostly from poor families, were enrolled, receiving free education, food, and lodging. Now, all students have returned home and the reopening of the madrasa and resumption of classes remain uncertain," Ali said. Despite the closure of madrasas and demolition of religious structures, the border area remains free of communal tension. However, concern and anxiety prevail within the Muslim community as their religious institutions and structures are under scrutiny. "The state government should ensure the education of Muslim children displaced by the madrasa closures. We seek quality education and improved facilities in madrasas through the modernization programme," stated Abdul Qayum, who runs a madrassa in Hakimpurwa village. A similar scenario prevails in the adjoining Bahraich district, where the district administration has sealed 10 unrecognised madrasas and razed three others. The operation is concentrated in the Nanpara and Mihinpurwa regions bordering Nepal. Furthermore, two significant madrasas situated in Babaganj town near the border have been sealed and are currently deserted with locked entrances. Mohammad Salim Qasmi, the head of the madrasa committee, stated that approximately 300 children were enrolled in these institutions, with a significant number residing in the attached hostel. "Both the madrasas are registered with the Registrar Firms, Societies and Chits but the UP Madrasa Board has not granted us recognition despite the fulfilment of all the norms set by the government," he said. Ghulam Ahmed Rabbani, the principal of Madrasa Jamia Ahle Sunnat Isha Atul Islam in Barhni town, Siddharthnagar district, looked relaxed. "The district administration team visited the madrasa to check the documents. We showed them the affiliation and registration documents. The madrasa is located near the no man's land. The officers checked the land records and returned satisfied," he said. "Along with teaching Urdu, Persian and Arabic, religious texts, we are imparting modern education to the students. Our students have cleared NEET and the JNU entrance test. We are getting limited aid from the government that is spent on the salary of teachers. The remaining expenditure is met with the donation by members of the Muslim community under Zakat," he said. The madrasas running in the Sohratgarh area of Siddharthnagar district are also under the administration's lens. Mohammad Ramzan, principal of Madrasa Arabia Ahle Sunnat, appeared anxious. "The district administration has directed us to submit all the documents of the institution, including recognition, land , teachers, students and fund. Around 250 students are enrolled in the madrasa located at Kajibugalla village near the border," he said. Altaf Hussain, president of the Madrasa Ahle Sunnat Nurul in Sohratgarh, said, "We welcome the state government drive to regularize the working of the madrsas, but the drive should not be one-sided. Around 500 children are enrolled in our madrasa. We are getting aid from the government. No action has been taken against the Sanskrit institutions in the district, in which no students are enrolled," he said. "The government has ordered imparting of modern education to the children enrolled in the madrasas. We had hired science teachers. but the irony is that since last eight years the state government has stopped the salary of the science teachers. The teachers' organisation had met ministers, officers, organised dharnas (sit-ins) and demonstration but the state government remain unmoved," he said A science teacher Akhtar Kamal said, "We have filed a petition in the Allahabad high court for salary and regularisation of service." In Maharajganj district, the administration has issued notices to 34 madrasas and religious structures over encroachment on government land. While two madarsas have been sealed, two religious structures were demolished. In Tuthibari town, the revenue team demolished a portion of a madarsa that has allegedly encroached on the community pond area. The owner of the madrasa did not turn up despite a notice by the administration. SSB officer Novyon Singh, who is posted at a border outpost in Shravasti, said, "There are clear instructions from the government that there should be no activity in the no-man's-land area between the India and Nepal border. We are maintaining a watch on the border and holding a meeting with the village committees located on the border. We are also conducting joint patrolling with the Nepal Armed Police Force to check unlawful activities in the border area. Vigil is being maintained on the people crossing the border and their identity is checked. Illegal structures and encroachments on the government land have been removed after the survey conducted by the revenue team led by the sub divisional magistrate." Former U.P. Madrasa Board chairman Iftikhar Ahmed Javed said, "There is no written order from the state government not to grant recognition to madarsas that have applied for affiliation with the Board but the officers of the minority welfare department are not clearing the applications." "In my three-year tenure, eight meetings of the Madrasa Board were held. In all the meetings, proposals to grant recognition to the madarsas that fulfil the norms were passed but the order has not been implemented." There are around 25,000 madrasas in the state out of which around 16,513 are affiliated to the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education while 8,449 are unrecognised madrasas. Around 28 lakh students are enrolled in the madrasas across the state. In 2022, a survey of all the madrasas was conducted in Uttar Pradesh and a report was submitted on November 15, 2022 but the matter has been put in cold storage, Javed said. "The state government has made it clear that illegal occupation and unrecognised religious or educational institutions within a 10-km of the Nepal border will not be tolerated. The administration has been directed to remove identified encroachments promptly and ensure continuous monitoring in the area. The administration has implemented the court order while carrying out a demolition drive against illegal structures," he said. Lakhimpur Kheri district magistrate Durga Shakti Nagpal said action has been initiated under Section-67 of the Revenue Act to remove the illegal madarsas and Eidgah constructed on government land. Siddharthnagar district magistrate Rajaganapathy R said illegal constructions are being identified and notices have been issued to the occupants. Illegal constructions on government land have been demolished, he added. The campaign reflects the government's commitment to securing the India-Nepal border and curbing unauthorized activities, said a state government officer. The operation is backed by comprehensive checks and notices, aiming to reclaim government land and ensure compliance with legal standards for religious institutions, he said. The drive will continue until all illegal encroachments and unrecognized setups are addressed, he added. Minister of state for minority welfare, Muslim waqf and Haj Danish Azad Ansari said, "The state government is committed to ensuring that the youths get quality education. Madrasas play an important role in imparting education to poor Muslim students. There are certain standards of education. We continuously order that our respective madrasas should follow these standards," he said....