Dhami orders probe into land allotment to Madani run trust

By Arun Pratap SinghGarhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 9 Feb: A controversy surrounding the sale of agricultural land which had been allotted to a Muslim Education trust headed by Mahmood Asad Madani near the Indian Military Academy (IMA) has triggered serious questions in the state. Sources claim that following the surfacing of the controversy, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered an intense probe into the land allotment. Sources have further claimed that the government is also mulling on whether the land allotment to the Madani’s trust can be cancelled. It may be recalled that the BJP has demanded immediate cancellation of the land allotment which had been made by the then ND Tiwari led Congress government. Madani is considered to have a close relationship with Tiwari and other senior Congress leaders from Uttarakhand like Harish Rawat. It is also reminded here that most of this land allotted to the Madani led trust had been purchased at a low cost from local farmers as it was agriculture land.
As this matter has surfaced now, CM Dhami is learnt to have sought a detailed report from the district administration through Home Secretary Shailesh Bagoli This issue is being termed as a very sensitive issue and the government has reiterated that any conspiracy to alter Uttarakhand’s demographic profile will not be allowed to succeed.
The case pertains to agricultural land located near the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun in village Haria in Dhaulas, where around a 90 bighas of prime land was allotted to Mahmood Asad Madani’s Sheikh Ul Hind Education Trust way back by then CM ND Tiwari. However, since then there has been no sign of any progress regarding construction of a Muslim educational institute here. Instead, it is being alleged that trust has sold part of this land in form of smaller plots to Muslims, mainly from other states without obtaining the mandatory land use change, despite the area being highly sensitive from a national security perspective. The land is currently allotted to Sheikh Ul Hind Education Charitable Trust, whose chairman is Mahmood Asad Madani, a prominent Islamic scholar associated with Darul Uloom Deoband and Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, and a former Rajya Sabha member. As the issue gained public attention, the government has directed Dehradun district administration to submit a factual report at the earliest.
District Magistrate Savin Bansal has stated that SDM Vikasnagar Vinod Kumar has been asked to conduct a detailed inquiry into the matter. According to preliminary findings, the Sheikh Ul Hind Trust, to which this land had been allotted, has so far sold large parcels to 15 persons, who in turn further subdivided and sold the land into smaller plots to nearly 70 to 80 persons of a particular community. In view of the violations detected, notices are being issued under Sections 166 and 167 of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act (UPZLRA), and action is being initiated to vest the entire land in the state government under the same provisions.
According to available records, during the tenure of the Congress government led by Narayan Dutt Tiwari, preliminary permission was granted to the Sheikhul Hind Education Charitable Trust, registered at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi, to establish an Islamic educational institution near the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun. It is alleged that the trust intended to develop a large madrasa or a Muslim university on the lines of Darul Uloom Deoband. For this purpose, around 20 acres of agricultural land in village Hariyawala Dhaulasi, Pachhuwadoon pargana of Vikasnagar tehsil, was purchased from local farmers, while allegations were also made of encroachment upon certain gram sabha and forest department land.
Very significantly, when the IMA administration had come to know of the proposal to establish such an institution in close proximity to its campus, strong objections were raised before the then Congress government on security grounds, resulting in the project being stalled for several months. The issue remained dormant during the subsequent BJP government, but resurfaced once again when Congress returned to power, leading to renewed activity around the proposed institution. The matter was taken to the Uttarakhand High Court by the trust’s leadership, but no relief was granted, with the primary reason cited being the objections raised by the IMA due to the sensitivity of the location.
Taking into account the strategic importance of the area, the High Court had directed both the state government and the trust that the land use of the agricultural land would not be changed under any circumstances. The court had further ordered that if the land was to be sold, it must remain agricultural in nature and any proceeds from such sale should be utilised by the trust solely for social purposes. The rationale behind this directive was that the IMA is a highly sensitive defence installation, where civilian habitation and commercial activities in the adjoining areas are not desirable, as the land borders zones where cadets routinely conduct training exercises.
Following the High Court’s order passed on 8 June, 2010, in Writ Petition No 1918 (MS) of 2007, Trust versus State and Others, the then Additional Secretary in the Revenue Department JP Joshi, through a letter dated 19 July, 2016, directed the DM Dehradun to ensure compliance with the court’s directions and clarified that in reference to government order dated 15 March, 2004, the agricultural land belonging to the trust would not be converted to non-agricultural use.
Despite these directions, it has been alleged that the trust granted power of attorney to a Dehradun-based individual, Rais Ahmed, and that plotting activity began on the 20-acre land by laying roads and erecting electricity poles, allegedly with the intent of settling a Muslim habitation. Complaints in this regard were reportedly submitted in writing to the district administration in 2016 by then village Pradhan Rajni Devi of Hariyawala, but the matter remained unattended for a considerable period, after which sale of land allegedly resumed.
Records indicate that land for the proposed institution was purchased from several local farmers, including Veer Singh Pundir, Mangat Ram, Kala Chand, Hitendra Narayan, Mahendra Singh, Ranbir Singh, Laxmi Thapa, Kunti Devi, Vikram Singh, Beena Thakur, Charan Singh, Satyendra Kumar, Balveer Singh, Madan Singh, Bhagwan Singh, Alok Kumar, Manjit Singh, Sandeep Kumar, Dharam Singh, Gulab Singh, Ratan Dei and Jogendra Singh, among others.
It has further been alleged that land registries have already been executed in favour of several individuals belonging to the Muslim community after the power of attorney was issued, and mutation proceedings have been completed in many cases. Names cited include Manzar Alam, Shahzad Ali, Asif, Tahir Khan, Amjad Ali, Mohammad Tariq, Sahil Ahmed, Mohammad Irshad, Salim Ahmed, Nawab Naseem and Mohammad Shoaib, among others. Based on land documents, allegations have been raised that agricultural land purchased from Hindu farmers is being used to facilitate a planned settlement, leading to claims of an organised attempt at demographic change near a sensitive defence installation.
Local gram sabha representatives have also reportedly submitted complaints to the administration regarding the issue, while the IMA has raised concerns with authorities on multiple occasions, though no lasting resolution was achieved earlier. Adding to the political heat, a video statement by Hyderabad-based leader T Raja Singh, a five-time MLA from Goshamahal, has gone viral on social media, in which he openly accuses Mahmood Madani of selling land acquired during the Congress regime, further fuelling public debate.
It may also be reminded here that during the 2022 Assembly elections, the BJP had strongly targeted Congress over allegations of plans to establish a Muslim university in Uttarakhand, an issue that has remained prominent in public discourse. While Congress leaders have consistently denied any such intent, the purchase of land by the Sheikh Ul Hind Education Charitable Trust for an Islamic educational institution was cited by the BJP as indicative of an understanding between religious leaders and the then Congress dispensation, a plan that, according to party leaders, could not move forward due to objections raised by the IMA authorities. At that time, statements attributed to Congress leader Aqil Ahmed about establishing a Muslim university in Sahaspur constituency under which this land allegedly falls, had also triggered political controversy.
Reacting to the current developments, Dhami has stated that the matter has come to his notice and described it as highly sensitive. He sought details from the Home Department and has assured that further action will be taken strictly on the basis of facts that emerge. It may also be recalled that Dhami has reiterated on multiple occasions that any conspiracy aimed at altering the demographic character of Uttarakhand will not be allowed to succeed under his government.