Madhya Pradesh: Is this the state of the new republic?

On 13 January, a bulldozer moved into Dhaba village and partially demolished a brand new single-storey building. A week later, desks and benches stand forlorn amidst the rubble, as do the boards indicating classrooms One to Eight.

These are the remains of 48-year-old Abdul Naeem’s dream project of running an English-medium school for the children of his village, 80 km from Betul town on the Maharashtra border. He bought the plot of land from his brother, invested his own money to build and furnish the school.

In December 2025, he applied to the Madhya Pradesh school board for recognition and affiliation up to Class Eight. In January, it all came crashing down. Naeem was charged with planning an ‘illegal madrasa’ in this predominantly tribal village which comes under the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.

The handful of Muslim households who have lived with their Hindu neighbours for close to half-a-century without any acrimony or complaints are aghast.

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Abdul Naeem, a reasonably well-to-do villager with land, a hardware store and some shops, was well-settled in Dhaba. The only problem was visiting his wife and three children, who live in a small town 25-30 km away where the children go to school.

With no English-medium schools nearby, several upwardly mobile villagers had opted, like Naeem, to maintain two establishments, commuting between the village and the town where their wives and children live.

The nearest government school is five km away; to attend an ‘English-medium’ school, the children have to travel farther. Naeem himself had a patchy education and had missed learning English. He was determined that his children should not have to suffer the same lack of advantage.

He invested Rs 20 lakh from his own hard-earned money and in December 2025, proudly put up the board announcing S.K. Public School, the only English-medium school within a 25-km radius.

The villagers were excited: now their children would be able to study in the village itself. They congratulated Naeem Bhai for taking the lead.

“It was his own land; he was spending his own money and the children from all the neighbouring villages would also benefit. Why would anyone object to the construction?” a puzzled villager told a visiting media team.

The district administration claims to have received an anonymous complaint on Friday, 9 January, about an ‘illegal madrasa’ where Arabic was being taught ‘illegally’. The very next day, the SDM, the local tehsildar and the town inspector visited the village. The team found nothing amiss and told Naeem that his papers were in order and that the complaint was a false alarm. They did advise him, however, to obtain a ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) from the village panchayat.

Naeem rushed to the panchayat office the same day with an application for a formal NOC. The official, he says, refused to accept the application. Meanwhile, news of the sudden inspection had spread through the village. When Naeem returned and told the anxious villagers that the panchayat had refused to issue an NOC, they decided to confront the officials on Sunday, 11 January. The panchayat gave in and issued the NOC on Monday, 12 January. Why then the demolition the next day?

Panchayat officials confided to Naeem that there was immense pressure from the top: “Building todni padegi” (we have to demolish the building). They hinted that bulldozers were ready. When an unnerved Naeem told the villagers this, some of the more enterprising among them suggested they approach Narendra Suryawanshi, the district magistrate at Betul headquarters. The DM held a weekly janata darbar to hear public grievances every Tuesday — that is where they would go.

Accompanied by local activists Ramesh Panse and Hemant Vagadre, a group of villagers set off for Betul on Tuesday morning (13 January). Panse recalls that attempts were made to stop them from reaching the district headquarters. “Naeem received calls from the SDM and panchayat officials, who suggested resolving the issue by demolishing the structure partially,” says Panse.

When the group decided to push ahead, a police vehicle was sent to intercept them. They were allowed to proceed only around 12.30 pm, by which time the janata darbar was officially over.

The agitated villagers did manage to meet the DM briefly; one of them recorded the meeting on video. It was clearly a tense exchange. Vagadre can be heard asking, “When there is no objection to the building, the application for affiliation has already been sent and received by the school education board, why is the school being threatened with demolition?”

To this, the DM reacted sharply, “Shiksha jaise pavitra cheez ko aap awaidh tareeke se chalana chahte hain (you want to run something as sacred as education in an illegal manner)?” Declaring the building illegal, he stormed off, saying he would get the SDM to conduct an inquiry.

Meanwhile, Naeem’s phone rang incessantly. Too busy pleading his case with the DM, he ignored the calls. When he finally called back, he learnt two bulldozers had reached Dhaba village. The school was already being demolished.

“I urged them to impose a fine instead,” he told reporters, his voice quivering. “I pleaded with them and said I would shut down the school; I pleaded with them not to demolish the building…”

The dramatic exchange outside the DM’s office was recorded on camera by media persons present. Naeem’s story went viral on social media. The damage, however, was done.

Naeem was so distraught and stricken, he threatened to set himself ablaze. A week later, he has withdrawn into a shell, and refuses to talk about his dream school or even about his ordeal.

Tribal rights groups, teachers’ unions and civil liberties organisations are among those who issued statements condemning the administration’s action. How could a proposed school, with an NOC and pending affiliation, be demolished without notice? Activists weighed in to point out that the action reflected the pattern of punitive demolitions targeting vulnerable communities.

Villagers had used their mobile phones to record the demolition. When the SDM brought the bulldozer to the village, the sarpanch, Ramrati Kangle, and her husband, Madan Kangle, opposed the action. A video shows Kangle shouting, “Don’t demolish the school!” To which the SDM responds, “You were the one who issued the notice. I’m withdrawing it immediately. Stop the bulldozer.” Despite this, the bulldozer proceeded.

The SDM has denied that he was present. In his official statement, the DM claimed he had no knowledge of the case and that the panchayat was responsible for the demolition. If that were true, why did the panchayat issue an NOC just the day before? Why was the demolition carried out without any notice? The statement is silent on these disturbing questions.

Abdul Naeem refuses to speak on the issue or meet the media. He has ruled out approaching the court for justice. He does not want to compound his problems, afraid that the State would go after his house and family if he pursues the case. Villagers say he is still in a state of shock.

The education minister and the secretary couldn’t care less. No inquiry has been ordered. No order of suspension or transfer has been issued even as a token act of disapproval. No explanation has been sought from the officials concerned. All is well, as usual.