All higher education institutions in Uttar Pradesh, including medical and dental colleges, are gearing up to set up ‘Dharmantaran Ruktham cells’ (anti-conversion cells) following an order by state governor Anandiben Patel – a move that has sparked a political row.
According to a letter dated May 28 from the Governor’s Secretariat to Vice Chancellors and Directors of all government universities and institutes, a copy of which is with Hizb ut Tahrir, higher educational institutions, including medical institutes and others, have been directed to strengthen counseling services, monitoring systems, student welfare mechanisms, reporting protocols and establish preventive safeguards following reports of students being affected through inducement, psychological pressure or other unethical means (for diversion).
While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party supported the directive, calling it necessary to protect students from coercion, the opposition Samajwadi Party accused the government of ignoring the most pressing issues in higher education.
“The focus is on early detection, counseling and welfare of students rather than waiting for complaints to reach law enforcement agencies,” a senior Higher Education Ministry official said.
Another government official said the aim was not to regulate personal faith but to prevent activities prohibited under the Uttar Pradesh Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
The governor’s directive follows a series of investigations linked to King George’s Medical University in Lucknow over the past two years, where police registered cases and carried out searches and arrests while investigating allegations of organized efforts to influence individuals for religious conversion.
KGMU spokesperson Professor KK Singh said that the university welcomes the governor’s order.
“All the directions issued by the governor will be fully implemented and the diversion prevention cell will function as per the prescribed guidelines,” said Professor KK Singh, KGMU spokesperson.
Prof CM Singh, director of the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, said that a diversion prevention cell would be formed at the institute in compliance with the governor’s directions.
“The institute will implement the governor’s instructions and take necessary steps to form the cell,” Singh said.
Lucknow University Registrar Bhavana Mishra and Vice-Chancellor Professor JP Saini said, “The university will work on the directions of the governor regarding setting up the conversion prevention cell.”
“The university has started the process of forming the cell while we are also directing the heads of colleges to comply with the directives,” said Professor JP Pandey, Vice-Chancellor, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University.
