Justice For All’s Save India from Fascism campaign condemns West Bengal Government closure of 252 madrasas, leaving thousands of students without access to Islamic education - Justice For All

By Abdul Malik Mujahid Most people outside India have never heard of what happened on…

Justice For All’s Save India from Fascism campaign condemns West Bengal Government closure of 252 madrasas, leaving thousands of students without access to Islamic education

For Immediate Release

Washington DC (Sep. 21, 2026)

Justice For All’s Save India from Fascism campaign condemns the government in the Indian state of West Bengal for its recent closure of 252 madrasas. The state government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), served notices to these madrasas under the excuse of their being unrecognized, following a three-month survey by the Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education Department. The end-result is that thousands of children have lost access to traditional Islamic education. Critics argue the move is designed to force a massive student dropout crisis within the Muslim community.

These madrasas are part of the Khariji network, which are independently run, focus primarily on religious education, and have provided vital cultural, moral and spiritual instruction to impoverished communities. They do not fall under the supervision of state education boards. Despite operating peacefully for generations and actively engaging with the state madrasa board to formalize their paperwork, these institutions were denied any pathway to regularize their status. Instead of offering administrative guidance or a grace period to upgrade facilities, the state opted for closure.

This fits a broader pattern of BJP persecution of West Bengal Muslims, including bureaucratic harassment, funding cuts, surveillance of Muslim institutions, disproportionate regulatory targeting of Muslim-majority districts, forced business closures and anti-Muslim rhetoric by BJP leaders, mirroring similar actions in other BJP-ruled states.

Zahir Adil, team lead of the Save India From Fascism campaign stated, “If the government actually cared about the education of students over political meandering, they would invest resources to upgrade these schools, not lock their gates. By cutting off traditional Islamic education for thousands who rely on it, the administration is deliberately widening the educational divide.”

The closures violate provisions in India’s constitution around religious freedom, the right to conserve culture and education (Articles 25, 29(1), 30(1)). They also violate international agreements India has signed, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the UNESCO Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960).

Justice For All calls upon the West Bengal government to reverse these closures, reinstate the educational access for these impoverished families and create a path through which these institutions are recognized as independent. The Khariji madrasas must be allowed to operate without extensive government intrusion.

Justice For All is a human rights organization accredited by the United Nations focused on Muslim minority issues and anti-genocide advocacy.

Contact: Zahir Adil, zahir@JusticeForAll.org Phone: 202-908-JUST

Website: https://www.justiceforall.org/saveindia/

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