With Lok Sabha clearing the Waqf Amendment Bill late last night after a marathon debate, the proposed law is one step closer to becoming an Act. While the Centre stresses that the changes will make the functioning of Waqf Boards more efficient, inclusive and transparent, the Opposition has alleged that it is an attack on minorities and that the government is eyeing the 9.4 lakh acres of Waqf land. NDTV breaks down what changes in the new law and why it has drawn protests from the Opposition

What Is Waqf?

The word 'waqf' originates from the Arabic word "waqufa," which means "to hold". Waqf refers to properties dedicated exclusively for Muslim charitable purposes. Any other use of the property and its sale are prohibited. The idea is that the ownership of the property is transferred to Allah. This means that the donor cannot reclaim a Waqf property. The history of Waqf in India goes back to the 12th Century: the early days of the Delhi Sultanate. Sultan Muizuddin Sam Ghaor, also known as Muhammad of Ghori, had dedicated two villages to the Jama Masjid in Multan (now in Pakistan). Over time, the number of Waqf properties grew. In fact, in the late 19th Century, a Waqf property dispute from British-ruled India reached the Privy Council of London. The judges described Waqf as "a perpetuity of the worst and the most pernicious kind" and declared it invalid. The decision was not accepted in India, and a 1913 law saved the institution. Since then, no attempt to abolish Waqf has been made.

Photo Credit: Courtesy: PIB

How Much Property Does Waqf Hold In India

The Waqf Board is the largest landowner in India after the Armed Forces and the Railways. According to the Minority Affairs Ministry, Waqf boards control 8.7 lakh properties across the country, spanning about 9.4 lakh acres of land. The estimated value of these properties is Rs 1.2 lakh crore. There are 3,56,051 Waqf estates, most of them in Uttar Pradesh. Of the 8,72,328 immovable properties registered under the Waqf Board, over 1.2 lakh are in Uttar Pradesh. Waqf boards hold 16,713 movable properties, most of them in Tamil Nadu.

The government maintains that many Waqf properties face major disputes and issues such as encroachment. In fact, 40,951 cases concerning these properties are pending in Tribunals and nearly 10,000 of them are filed by Muslims against the institutions managing Waqf. There is no provision under the current law for these disputes to move to court and this leads to delays in resolution, the Centre says.

Monuments And Waqf

The Jama Masjid in Delhi is a Waqf property managed by the Delhi Waqf Board. The erstwhile Mughal capital of Fatehpur Sikri, including the Tomb of Salim Chishti, is registered as a Waqf property. The Bada Imambara in Lucknow is also a Waqf property.

In the case of monuments, Waqf ownership leads to administrative disputes with the Archaeological Survey of India. For example, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board had claimed the Taj Mahal as a Waqf property. The ASI controls the monument and contested this claim. The matter reached the Supreme Court, which asked the Waqf board to provide documentary evidence to support their claim, which they failed to do. Among the protected monuments in Delhi claimed by Waqf boards are the Safdarjung Tomb, Purana Qila, Nila Gumbaz and Isa Khan's mosque (inside the Humayun's Tomb complex) and the Jamali Kamali mosque and tomb.

The temple at Thiruchenthurai village in Tamil Nadu was also claimed as Waqf property

Some Waqf Complications

In 2022, residents of Thiruchenthurai village in Tamil Nadu were shocked to know that the Tamil Nadu Waqf board had claimed their village as its property. The matter came to light when a farmer, Rajagopal, tried to sell his 1.2-acre plot and authorities told him to get an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the Waqf board. This led to a tense situation in the Hindu-dominated village as residents found that a 1,500-year-old temple in the village was also tagged as Waqf property. The state Waqf board demanded a survey, but this has not been carried out yet.

In another instance, a plot owner at a residential society in Gujarat's Surat registered his plot with the state Waqf board and people started offering namaz there. "This implied that an apartment in any housing society can any day turn into a mosque without any input from the other members of the society if the owner of that apartment decides to endow it as Waqf," the central government said, stressing the need to amend Waqf rules.

Key Changes In The Waqf Bill

The new bill aims to make significant changes to the existing system.

• Only a person practising Islam for at least five years may declare a waqf
• The person declaring a property as Waqf must own it at the time.
• The Bill removes the provision of 'Waqf by user' in the current law, under which properties could be deemed as Waqf solely on the basis of prolonged use for religious purposes.
• A Waqf declaration must not lead to the denial of inheritance rights of the donor's heir, including women heirs
• Any government property identified as Waqf will cease to be so.
• Removes Waqf board's power to inquire and determine if a property is Waqf.

The Bill also proposes changes to the composition of the Central Waqf Council and Waqf boards. The 1995 Waqf Act requires that all Council members be Muslims, and at least two must be women. The new bill states that two members must be non-Muslims and of the Muslim members, two must be women. For Waqf boards, the Bill empowers the state government to nominate MPs, MLAs or MLCs to the board and these nominees need not be Muslims. The bill also provides for the inclusion of representatives of Bohra and Agakhani communities, if they have Waqf in the state. The Act provides that at least two board members must be women.

In the Act, decisions of the Waqf Tribunal are final and cannot be challenged in courts. The Bill changes this. The tribunal's orders can be appealed in the High Court within 90 days.

Minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, who introduced the Bill in Lok Sabha yesterday, has said crores of poor Muslims will thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi once it becomes a law. 

Why The Protests?

Muslim organisations led by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board have opposed the Waqf Amendment Bill, alleging that IT IS based on discrimination and injustice and violates fundamental rights. The AIMPLB has alleged that the BJP government aims to use the bill to seize and destroy Waqf properties. "Even with the existence of the Places of Worship Act, the issue of searching for temples in every mosque is continuously escalating. If this amendment is passed, there will be a surge in illegitimate governmental and non-governmental claims on Waqf properties, making it easier for Collectors and District Magistrates to seize them," AIMPLB president Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani has said. Some sections of the Muslim society, however, have welcomed the legislation and said it would put an end to "Waqf Mafia" and bring more transparency to Waqf's functioning. 

The Opposition, led by the Congress, has opposed the bill and voted against it in Lok Sabha. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has said the Bill has been brought to mask the government's failures. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi tore up the Bill during the debate in Lok Sabha, calling it unconstitutional and accusing the BJP of trying to create conflict in the name of temples and mosques.

Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain alleged that the BJP built a misinformation campaign before introducing the legislation in Parliament. Defending the legitimacy of Waqf properties, he said, "Those properties exist even today and are in long usage; that is the proof of them being in Waqf... How will you ask for proof of age-old places?"