Uttarakhand | The new minority report

Even an eye with attention deficit may have noticed a pattern here. For, a series of recent decisions etc. in Uttarakhand have centred on questions of identity and community. Integrating all of that is a new move by the BJP-led state government: a high-level committee to study the status of minorities. Prima facie, it is an empirical exercise, a benevolent one that recalls the famous Sachar Committee of 2005-06. Its time and place have drawn attention, though. Uttarakhand, which passed India’s first Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in 2023, is a frontline Hindutva state now. Also, an assembly election is due next year, as is the prefatory Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The focus, too, differs a bit. The seven-member panel, which brings together jurists, ex-bureaucrats, academics and minority representatives, will, of course, do a comprehensive study of the socio-economic, educational and cultural shifts within the minority communities over the past 25 years (practically since the state’s formation). But it will also study demographics and assess ‘compliance’ with constitutional norms, recommending policy or legal interventions if gaps are identified.

Chaired by retired Justice Akhilesh Chand Sharma, the panel includes retired IAS officer Shatrughan Singh, Doon University vice-chancellor Surekha Dangwal, State Minority Commission vice-chairperson Farzana Begum, and others. Talking to india today, panel member Manu Gaur says the study’s ambit includes social, financial, educational, cultural and “demographic” changes. “The committee will study how effective the state’s welfare policies and initiatives have been, and see if any improvements are required...the step should be seen in a positive light.”

That official framing sits alongside a larger political context that has drawn critical attention. Pushkar Singh Dhami’s regime has seen the state take a distinct rightward turn since 2022, when it was re-elected. This went beyond policy moves like the UCC, as flashpoints erupted on the ground. A series of incidents targeting Muslims with street-level polarisation have ended up keeping communal tensions in the air.

OPEN HOTSPOTS

It began with Purola in Uttarkashi, where protests broke out in 2023 over a so-called “love jihad”, a claim later negated by the police. What began as a demand for outsider verification quickly turned into an open campaign to drive out Muslims, backed by local traders’ groups and right-wing outfits. Similar demands soon surfaced in nearby towns and villages. Even CM Dhami dipped his toes in those troubled waters, stating “love and land jihad can’t be tolerated”.

Again, in Uttarkashi, a mahapanchayat was organised in December 2024 around demands to raze a decades-old mosque, later found to be legally established. The ‘Mohammed Deepak’ case of early 2026, where a local gym owner in Kotdwar named Deepak Kumar famously faced off against Bajrang Dal activists who were harassing a 71-year-old Muslim shopkeeper, was only the latest of a series of like incidents.

Alongside, the state saw policy decisions with wider social implications. In Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani, an anti-encroachment drive on railway land saw a mosque and a madrassa being demolished in early 2024, leading to violent protests, shoot-at-sight orders and at least six deaths. The Minority Education Bill, approved in 2025, requires all madrassas to seek recognition from a new state authority, affiliate with the state school board and follow the New Education Policy curriculum. Anti-conversion laws have also been made stringent. Last March, some 18 places with Muslim names were also renamed. Any reform left to be made will now be suggested by the new committee.