UGC Chairman, Uttarakhand Govt Served NHRC Notice After Our Complaint Over Religious Discrimination and ‘No Tilak, No Kalawa’ Rule at Dehradun College

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices and called for an Action Taken Report (ATR) on a complaint filed by Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation (SNU) regarding alleged religious discrimination against Hindu students at Uttaranchal (P.G.) College of Bio-Medical Sciences & Hospital, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

In our complaint, we highlighted reports where Hindu students alleged on video that they were instructed not to wear bindi, tilak and kalawa, and when they defied these verbal instructions, they were marked absent, had their kalawas forcibly removed, and were photographed for disciplinary action. The same students alleged that burqa was being permitted for Muslim students by the administration. 

SNU contended that such practices violate the constitutional guarantees of equality, freedom of conscience, dignity and non-discrimination, and sought an independent inquiry, protection of affected students, examination of the institution’s policies, accountability of responsible officials, and transparent, non-discriminatory guidelines on religious expression.

Watch the video of the allegations here, and read a news report by Amar Ujala newspaper here.

After examining SNU’s complaint, the Commission observed that the allegations prima facie appear to disclose violations of the human rights of the affected students. Exercising its powers under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC has directed an inquiry into the matter.

The notices have been issued to:

• Chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC)
• Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Government of Uttarakhand
• Secretary, Medical Education, Uttarakhand
• Principal, Uttaranchal (P.G.) College of Bio-Medical Sciences & Hospital
• District Magistrate, Dehradun
• Senior Superintendent of Police, Dehradun

The Commission has directed these authorities to inquire into the allegations raised by SNU and submit an Action Taken Report within two weeks from date of issuance of the notice, which is 7 July 2026.