There is often a discussion in India about the right and wrong of Waqf and Waqf properties. Most of us have heard the name of Waqf, but they do not know much about it. What is Waqf? What does it mean for a mosque or other religious place to be Waqf? And can the Modi government’s efforts to change the constitution of the Waqf Board affect the status of Muslim religious places? Since the Waqf Board is the biggest landowner in India after the Railways and the Ministry of Defense, we will try to find answers to all these questions. First of all, it is important to know that examples of Waqf started coming to India with the arrival of Islam. Written mention of Waqf properties starts coming from the time of the Delhi Sultanate. During the Mughal rule, since most of the property was owned by kings and Maharajas, they were usually the Waqifs and kept establishing Waqfs. For example, many emperors built mosques, all of them became Waqfs and Intezamia committees were formed at the local level for their management.
After this, after independence in 1947, there was a talk of creating a structure for the Waqf properties spread across the country. Thus, in 1954, the Parliament passed the Waqf Act 1954. As a result of this, the Waqf Board was formed. It was a trust, under which all the Waqf properties came. In 1955, i.e. one year after the implementation of the law, this law was amended and provision was made to create Waqf Boards at the state level. After this, a new Waqf Board Act came in the year 1995. In 2013, during the Manmohan government, many amendments were made to it and it was given a completely dictatorial form. The system that is in place at present is running under these laws and amendments, the most dangerous amendment in this was that if the Waqf Board declares any property as its own, then it is taken away without any investigation and the person whose property is taken away cannot even go to the court or the police with his complaint. Most of the Muslim religious places come under the Waqf Board Act. But there are exceptions to this. For example, this law does not apply to Ajmer Sharif Dargah. Dargah Khwaja Sahib Act 1955 is made for the management of this dargah.
To curb the unlimited powers given to the Waqf Board and for better management and transparency, the Modi government introduced two bills in the Lok Sabha on August 8, 2024. Through the first bill, the government seems determined to abolish the Muslim Waqf Act 1923, while through the second, 44 amendments will be made in the Muslim Waqf Act 1995. In this bill, the government will make a provision for a separate Waqf Board for Bohra-Aghakhani and will abolish Section 40 related to the right to declare someone’s property as Waqf property.
A day before introducing the Waqf Board Amendment Bill in Parliament, the Modi government said that the purpose of bringing the bill is to better manage and operate the Waqf properties. After the bill was introduced, the government has sent it to the Select Committee for extensive discussion and consensus. The second bill has a provision to change the name of the Waqf Act 1995 to the Integrated Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency Development Act. It also has a provision to bring extensive changes in the structure of the Central Council and Tribunal of Waqf Boards. For example, representation of two women will be made mandatory in the Central Council and State Waqf Board. Apart from this, after the amendment in the law, the order of the Waqf Tribunal can now be challenged in the High Court within 90 days. The authority of the Survey Commissioner for the survey of Waqf properties will now be with the District Collector or the Deputy Collector nominated by him.
If we look at the highlights of the bill, the Modi government will withdraw the Waqf Act, 1923. 44 amendments will be made to ensure transparency, better management and accountability. Through which Agakhani and Bohra Waqf will be defined. Waqf will be able to acquire the property of those who follow the Muslim religion for five years. Waqf funds will have to be used for the welfare of widows, divorcees and orphans in the manner suggested by the government. The rights of heirs and women cannot be taken away while giving property to Waqf. At the same time, registered Waqf properties will have to be uploaded on the portal within 6 months. Information about land revenue, cess, its rate, tax, income, court cases received from Waqf properties will also have to be given. Waqf will not be able to declare government property as its property.
According to the changes that will be made in the Waqf Board, the Muslim Waqf Act of 1923 will be abolished. The Waqf Act will now become the Integrated Waqf Management Act and Section 40 will be abolished, which gives the right to declare someone’s property as Waqf property. Actually, in the Modi government at the Centre, the Manmohan Singh government in UPA-2 had amended the Waqf Act in 2013, thereby eliminating the right of the Waqf Board to declare anyone’s property as its own and to challenge the decisions of the Waqf Board in any court.
According to government sources, since then, about 60 thousand complaints of persons and organizations related to the Muslim community are pending with the government. All these complaints had common things like huge irregularities in the Wakf Board and forceful occupation of property. The amendment bill also has a provision for change in the Wakf Council. For example, the chairman of the council will be the minister of minority affairs. Three MPs, three representatives of Muslims, three experts of Muslim law, two former judges of the Supreme Court or High Court, a senior lawyer, four famous personalities of the country and additional or joint level officers of the Central Government and two women will be its members.
On the other hand, the opposition parties urged the government, even before the bill was presented, to send the Wakf (Amendment) Bill to the Standing Committee of Parliament for consideration after its introduction. The government said that it will decide on it after assessing the sentiment of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC). In this sequence, the decision taken by the Modi government to send the much-discussed Wakf Act amendment bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee after presenting it in the Lok Sabha, paying attention to the opposition’s demand, is the right step in this regard, because in this committee it will be discussed in detail and possibly rising above party politics. The biggest benefit of this will be that the opposition will no longer have the excuse that the government passed an important bill in a hurry without debate and none of its views were heard.
Keep in mind that after many bills were passed by the Parliament and converted into laws in the first and second term of the Modi government, the opposition created such an atmosphere that they were not allowed to be discussed in the Parliament. Efforts were also made to mislead the public regarding some such laws. It cannot be ignored how the opposition misled the public for its narrow political interests regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act i.e. CAA and then the three agriculture related laws. It remains to be seen how the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which is to be formed soon, considers the Waqf Amendment Act and whether it is able to establish any consensus or not? This will now be the big question.
(Written by Sanjay Saxena, Lucknow; these views are solely his own. The author can be reached at skslko28@gmail.com.)
