The opposition in India has developed a habit of reflexively opposing every legislation and move proposed by the government, regardless of their necessity and bona fides. Over the past decade, the opposition has consistently opposed major laws, including the land acquisition bill, CAA, Triple Talaq, Article 370, the three farm laws that were later scrapped, and new criminal laws, none of which passed without the opposition creating a grotesque scene inside and outside parliament. Even the construction of a new parliament building in the national capital and Ram Temple in Ayodhya saw vehement objections from the opposition. What’s also common is that in nearly every instance, the opposition has employed the same trope, framing government initiatives as an ‘attack on the Constitution’ to legitimize its stance. The strategy remains unchanged: Suppressio Veri, Suggestio Falsi – suppressing truth and suggesting falsehood. The latest addition to this extensive list is the proposed amendment to the Waqf Act, which addresses issues related to the powers of State Waqf Boards, registration and survey of waqf properties, and removal of encroachments. The bill was tabled in the parliament in August this year and was subsequently sent to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for further discussion following intense protests by the opposition.
To grasp the significance and need of the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act 1995, it’s essential to understand the vast authority wielded by the Waqf Board in India. Data from the Waqf Management System of India reveals that Waqf Boards currently oversee 8,54,509 properties, spanning over eight lakh acres of land. This makes Waqf the third-largest landowner in the country, after the Armed Forces and Indian Railways. Notably, in 2009, Waqf Board properties covered approximately four lakh acres, which means that the land under its possession has more than doubled over the past decade.
In recent times, the Waqf Board has earned a notorious reputation for corruption and malfeasance. As Hasan Suroor aptly put it in the Times of India, “Muslim Wakf Boards” evoke three words: “opaque, corrupt, and dysfunctional.” Most egregiously, the Waqf Board’s involvement in a number of land-grabbing cases has raised serious concerns about its integrity and accountability.
India’s constitutional supremacy dictates that no law can supersede its provisions. Yet, the current Waqf Act appears to be an exception, operating outside the constitutional ambit. There are several provisions in the act that are contentious, arbitrary, and ripe for reform. The following are some of the most egregious sections that warrant urgent state intervention.
Section 3 of the Waqf Act, 1995 states that if the Waqf “thinks” that the land belongs to a Muslim, then it is the property of the Waqf. It should be noted here that just “thinking of Waqf” is enough, the Waqf Board does not need any proof for this. If Waqf accepts that your property is not yours but the Waqf Board’s, then you cannot even go to court. You can approach the Waqf Tribunal Court.
Section 8 of the Waqf Act says, that the total cost of making a survey including the cost of publication of the list or lists of auqaf under this Chapter shall be borne by the State Government.
Section 40 of the Waqf Act, 1995, empowers Waqf boards to determine whether a property is a Waqf asset. However, this power has been widely misused by vested interests, aided by corrupt Waqf officials, to illegitimately acquire properties. A massive number of properties across India have been claimed as Waqf assets over the years. Some of the high-profile cases that were reported in the media include Mukesh Ambani’s Antilia residence in Mumbai, two islands in Gujarat’s Bet Dwarka, properties belonging to ISB, Microsoft, Wipro, and Lanco in Hyderabad, Kolkata’s Tollygunge Club and Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Bengaluru’s ITC Windsor Hotel, Chandrashekhar Park in Prayagraj, and even an entire village and a 1,500-year-old temple in Tamil Nadu.
Section 85 of the Waqf Act states that if you cannot satisfy the Waqf Board Tribunal that it is your land, then you will be ordered to vacate the land. The decision of the Tribunal will be final. No court, not even the Supreme Court, can change the conclusion of the Waqf Tribunal.
Besides, there have been multiple reports of massive land scams involving the Waqf Board.
§ West Bengal, during the Left Front government, witnessed a major Waqf property scam where at least 160 Wakf properties in the state, worth crores of rupees, were leased out to private developers and promoters without open tenders or quotations.
§ In 2012, a huge land scam was unearthed in Karnataka, where nearly half of the 54,000 acres that were in the custody of the Waqf board had been misused. Property worth an estimated Rs 2 lakh crores had been illegally transferred to private institutions and individuals.
§ In 2017, India Today exposed a massive land scam in UP involving custodians of Waqf properties and officials of the board.
The Waqf Act is among the many frauds perpetrated by the Congress party on the people of India under the pretext of secularism. In one of the most glaring examples of Congress party’s Muslim appeasement politics, the Congress-led UPA government, in March 2014, right ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections, transferred 123 prime properties in Delhi to the Delhi Waqf Board by using the existing law. According to a report published in Hindustan Times, 61 of these properties were with the land and development office under the Union Urban Development Ministry and 62 with the Delhi Development Authority. These are located in high-value areas such as Connaught Place, Janpath, Ashok Road, Babar Road, Lodhi Road, Mathura Road, Pandara Road, Jungpura, Karol Bagh, and Daryaganj.
Fyodor Dostoevsky said, “the best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison”. His words find stark relevance in the context of Indian Muslims who for far too long have been shackled by the chains of ignorance, unwittingly imprisoning their own potential. Any objective analysis will reveal that the Waqf Act, as it stands, jeopardizes the interests of ordinary Muslims of the country. It has widely been misused by certain individuals and groups within the community, as well as their political masters, to the detriment of the larger population. This misuse has led to concerns about the Act’s effectiveness in safeguarding waqf properties and promoting the welfare of the Muslim community. The proposed Waqf Amendment Bill represents an earnest effort on the part of the government to address long-standing concerns within the Muslim community, aiming to transform the existing law into a more transparent, accountable, and just framework that aligns with India’s constitutional principles. Moving ahead, it’s crucial to first highlight the significant reforms proposed in the bill.
§ Ensuring representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims on Waqf boards
§ Expanding the scope to include Aghakhani and Bohra Waqf, in addition to existing Sunni and Shia boards
§ Empowering women by securing their rights to Waqf welfare, including provisions for widows, divorced women, and orphans
§ Curtailing the powers to declare a property as Waqf, stating that no person shall create a Waqf unless they are the lawful owner of the property and competent to transfer or dedicate such property.
§ Giving the Collector a critical role in the declaration of Waqf properties, making it mandatory that such a property will not be declared Waqf until the district magistrate gives a report.
§ Limiting the tribunal’s sweeping powers and omitting the clause that made its decisions final
The opposition’s fierce resistance to the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, citing violations of Articles 14, 25, and 26 of the Constitution, seems incomprehensible and driven more by the constraints of vote bank politics than logical reasoning. It’s baffing how reforms aimed at addressing draconian provisions of Section 40 of the Waqf Act, which has led to numerous litigations and unjust property acquisitions, are making opposition incensed. Rather than addressing legitimate concerns of the people in general, the opposition’s arguments appear to cater to a perceived victim mindset within the Muslim community, resisting even well-intentioned reforms.
To wrap up, I leave you, the readers, with a question that lies at the crux of the debate: how did the Waqf Act, a religious law, become applicable in a secular nation like India, especially when it’s non-existent in major Muslim countries? Why the provision of the law was made to exclusively benefit Muslims, while Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs don’t have equivalent legislation? As a Hindu, I find it strikingly ironic that while the 1991 Places of Worship Act (brought by the then Congress govt.) ensures the preservation of religious sites as they existed at India’s independence, the 1995 Waqf Act grants the Waqf Board sweeping powers to claim properties nationwide, with limited scope for appeal. Both these acts stand out as sad exemplars of Congress’ perverse interpretation of secularism while raising critical questions about the intersection of religion and secularism in India.
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