The country’s renowned residential institution, ‘The Doon School’, is in the thick of a controversy after the Dehradun district administration questioned its move to construct an alleged mazar on campus, following objections raised by right-wing outfits. The school, however, dismantled the structure after a team from the district administration arrived to inspect the site and take stock of the law and order situation.
Even as the management of the renowned residential school dismantled an under-construction alleged mazar inside the campus, the Dehradun district administration served a notice to the management, asking why the structure was being constructed without the necessary permissions and valid documents. Dehradun DM Savin Bansal claimed that further action against the school will depend on its response to the notice.
Savin Bansal informed that the administration has sent a notice to the school management, asking why the alleged mazar in question was being constructed without any sanctioned map or legal papers from the relevant government authorities.
“When we received input that an alleged mazar was being constructed inside ‘The Doon School’ campus a few days ago, a team of district administration officials and police were sent to inspect the site and assess whether the situation could lead to law and order issues. The team was also supposed to ensure that the under-construction structure was duly backed by necessary legal papers and permissions from the authorities. However, the school administration failed to produce any legal documents to substantiate the construction of the alleged mazar on the school campus. As a result, the district administration issued a notice asking why this unauthorised construction was being carried out at the school, Bansal told The Statesman. He added that the school administration has not yet responded to the notice, and “a second notice is likely to follow, after which legal action will be taken”.
It’s significant that news of the construction of an alleged mazar inside ‘The Doon School’ campus spread like wildfire in the region, provoking right-wing activists in Dehradun to raise objections and vocally oppose the school management’s actions. They warned the district officials and ‘The Doon School’ authorities to halt the construction and demolish the completed work. Moreover, they threatened to forcibly enter the school campus and dismantle the structure if the district administration failed to stop it.
Interestingly, Bansal informed that when the district administration team arrived at the site, the school management promptly demolished the construction in front of them.
It’s worth mentioning that ‘The Doon School’ carries a rich legacy of alumni from different walks of life, including politics, cinema, literature, and theatre. Some prominent names among its alumni include former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, former Union Minister Kamalnath, Rajesh Pilot, current Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, his father Madhavrao Scindia, authors Amitav Ghosh and Vikram Seth, actors Chandrachur Singh and Ali Fazal, journalist Karan Thapar, and fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani.