For Danish Fayaz, watching his younger brother forcibly removed from Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom — a prominent Islamic seminary in India-administered Kashmir — was one of the most painful moments of his life.
The 26-year-old Pharmacist from Shopian district says the seminary has shaped his life and his brother Ashiq Fayaz’s upbringing.
“My younger brother was transformed by this seminary,” Danish tells TRT World.
“They gave him both an education and a grounding in prayer, discipline, respect and the Quran — values many Muslim families see as central to a child’s upbringing. What he learned there shaped the atmosphere in our home as well.”
Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom, regarded as one of the largest Islamic seminaries in south Kashmir, was shut down by authorities in April under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a controversial anti-terror law that grants authorities sweeping powers to designate individuals or organisations as linked to terrorism.
The order followed a police dossier alleging “sustained and covert links” between the seminary and the banned political party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), according to local media reports.
The seminary was officially recognised by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education, the main authority overseeing secondary and higher secondary schooling in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The closure comes amid a broader tightening of state control in the India-administered Kashmir since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status in 2019 and brought it under direct federal administration.
The move stripped local authorities of powers over land, education and employment, placing greater control in the hands of New Delhi.
Since then, Kashmiri political and religious leaders have accused authorities of steadily narrowing civic and religious space in the Muslim-majority region.
For many families in south Kashmir, the seminary represented far more than a school.
“There may be hundreds of educational institutions in India, but I have never seen one like Siraj-ul-Uloom,” Danish says.
“Every year, around 40 students complete Quran memorisation here.”
Scrutiny beyond schools
Earlier this year, police began surveying and profiling mosques across Kashmir, fuelling concerns about expanding state surveillance.
Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid — the region’s main congregational mosque — has also faced repeated closures and restrictions on prayers since 2019.
For many former students, the closure of Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom feels tied to those broader changes.
“For me, it was not just a school,” Ajaz Ahmad, a former student of the seminary, tells TRT World.
“It was my upbringing, my identity and a part of my memories.”
In 2025, the government took control of 215 schools linked to Jamaat-e-Islami’s Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT), affecting more than 51,000 students across Kashmir.
In April this year, authorities extended that action to 58 additional schools.
Officials defended the measures as necessary to ensure the “normal functioning” of educational institutions and protect students’ interests.
Critics, however, described them as part of a broader shrinking of independent religious and civic institutions in the India-administered Kashmir.
Nizam-ud-din Bhat, a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Bandipora area of India-administered Kashmir, says the government does not define terrorism solely as armed attacks carried out by militants.
They see certain ideas, beliefs, institutions, literature, religious spaces or political narratives as indirectly contributing to extremism, even if they are not involved in violence themselves, he says.
“The concern is whether executive actions like banning schools, literature or organisations leave meaningful space for review, accountability and constitutional safeguards.”
That scrutiny has also increasingly extended beyond schools.
Earlier this year, authorities seized 668 books from bookstores and distributors across India-administered Kashmir, alleging the publications promoted extremist ideology linked to banned organisations.
Critics argued the raids reflected growing restrictions on political, religious and intellectual expression.
“Kashmir has historically been shaped by pluralism, coexistence and Sufi traditions,” Bhat says.
“When Muslim institutions are viewed primarily through the lens of extremism, it creates resentment and alienation.”
‘Not a proportionate response’
A lawyer at the Kashmir High Court in Srinagar, who requested anonymity, questioned both the timing and proportionality of the closures.
“Authorities cannot shut Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom in the middle of an academic session, as it directly affects students and parents, who are left without immediate alternatives,” he says.
The lawyer noted that the seminary had operated as a registered institution for years without reported criminal incidents.
“A prior notice of 4–6 months should have been issued so that students could be shifted smoothly. By abruptly closing it, the rights of students and the institution have been affected.
“If a few individuals are alleged to be involved in wrongdoing, they must be dealt with individually,” he says.
“Shutting down an entire institution serving hundreds of students is not a proportionate response.”
For families, however, the immediate crisis has been the sudden disruption to students’ lives.
Abdul Rashid Sheikh, a parent whose son attended the seminary, says many schools were unwilling to admit displaced students because the academic year was already underway.
“The sudden closure shocked everyone,” he says. “He keeps asking what will happen to his education.”
“In our view, graduates were more studious, respectful and disciplined,” Sheikh tells TRT World.
“Parents were satisfied with the education and environment.”
On May 12, Nidash Ahmad, 14, an eighth-grader at the seminary, packed his books, blankets, and clothes into a trunk and left what he called his “second home”.
“I feel reluctant to leave these premises,” he says. “I loved studying here. The environment suited me perfectly and I had adapted completely to it.”
As students emptied hostels and classrooms, many families described scenes of confusion and grief.
“Leaving my room, friends and teachers is heartbreaking right now,” Nidash says.
“This seminary transformed me into a disciplined learner and a better human being. It is a difficult time for us.”
