On hearing the name of Waqf Board, the common man understands that we are talking about some property related to Muslim religion. Perhaps because of this the politicians of our country have been making it a sensitive issue. Due to vote bank politics, a handful of corrupt and powerful people are ruling a sacred institution created for the welfare of the Muslim religion. Just think once and see that compared to the amount of land owned by the Army and Railways in the country, an organization has a little less land which is a puppet in the hands of a handful of people. Not only this, due to the appeasement policies of Congress, during the UPA government, this organization got such a weapon, which it started using unnecessarily. The Waqf Board got the right to declare any land as Waqf property. And if the Board has laid claim on your land, then you cannot even take the help of the court for relief. Not only this, despite having about nine and a half lakh acres of land, the Board does not have money to help any poor Muslim. Therefore, before opposing the Waqf Board Amendment Bill, definitely think about these five things.
1- Shouldn’t there be any rule regulation for nine and a half lakh acres of property?
Please think once about whether there should be rule regulation for the care of nine and a half lakh acres of land or not. The government told in Parliament that the purpose of bringing the bill is to better manage and operate the Waqf properties. Perhaps this is the reason why the government has changed the name of the bill. As Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told in the Lok Sabha, now the name of the Waqf Act 1995 will be changed to the Integrated Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.
Registration and management, transparency and efficiency of Waqf properties have been taken care of in the amendment bill. There is a provision of a central portal and database for this. Now before any property is registered as Waqf, proper notice will be given to all concerned and a detailed process will have to be gone through as per revenue laws. Why does the opposition see evil in this? Central Government Minister Kiren Rijiju told in Parliament that Waqf properties have not been managed properly. Waqf Board should be computerized, mutation should be in the revenue records. Rijiju taunted and said that the chairman of the JPC formed for the Waqf Board law has been your senior leader, but what you could not do, we are doing. In the House, Rijiju says support this bill, you will get the blessings of crores of people. A few people have taken over the Waqf Board. The poor will not get justice. It will be recorded in history who were in opposition. Even during the Congress era, many committees have spoken about the shortcomings that have remained regarding the 1955 Act from 2014 till today. A major recommendation was made in the Waqf Inquiry Report in 1976. The method of audit and accounts is not proper, there should be complete management. Obviously, the same thing is happening which was demanded earlier by the Muslim community itself.
2- Shouldn’t there be a right to appeal in the court against the claim of the Waqf Board on any land?
As of 2009, the Waqf Board had 3 lakh registered Waqf properties measuring up to 4 lakh acres. Waqf land has doubled in just 13 years. As of today, more than 8 lakh 72 thousand 292 immovable properties are registered whose area is about 9.4 lakh acres. In fact, in 2013, the Congress-led UPA government amended the Basic Waqf Act of 1995 and gave more powers to the Waqf Boards. The Act was amended to give unlimited powers to Waqf boards to expropriate property, which cannot be challenged in any court.
Now in the new law, Section 40 of the Waqf Act 1995 is being removed. Under this law, the Waqf Board had the right to declare any property as Waqf property. But now this will not be possible. Rijiju asks that if there is a board which does something, then there is a provision to review it in the court, then how does it become unconstitutional. For how many years do the people sitting on the Waqf Board coordinate and give decisions in the tribunal? You cannot challenge that decision in any court. It is worth thinking whether this method is democratic? No law can be a super law in the country.
Shocking examples of Waqf Board’s arbitrariness and scams:
There are many examples of misuse of this law in the country. In the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Rijiju discussed some such cases which have found place in the media before. Rijiju discussed a case of Bohra community. There is a trust in Mumbai which has launched Asia’s largest scheme. Someone complained about that property to the Waqf Board and the Waqf Board notified him. A person who is neither in that city nor in that state, a project was disturbed through the Waqf Board. Rijiju also gave the example of the 1500 year old Sundareshwar Temple in Tiruchirappalli district in Tamil Nadu. When a man from this village went to sell his 1.2 acre property, he was told that it was Waqf land. The entire village has been declared Waqf property. In this way, the land of Municipal Corporation in Surat was declared Waqf property. In the report of Karnataka Minority Commission in 2012, it was said that the Waqf Board had converted 29 thousand acres of land into commercial property. Whereas everyone knows that Waqf Board land can be used only for religious and social works.
3-Should women not be included in the Waqf Board?
Today women are becoming Prime Ministers in Muslim countries. In India too, Muslim women have become MPs, MLAs, ministers and even Vice Presidents. But she cannot become a member of the Waqf Board. Is this not a violation of the Indian Constitution? Wouldn’t you want Muslim women to get equal status? The role of the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards has also been changed in the new bill. There will also be representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in these bodies. There will be proper representation of Muslims and non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Board. It will be mandatory to have two women in the Central Council and the State Waqf Board. The process of registration of Waqf will be streamlined through a central portal and database.
Agakhani and Bohra Waqf have been defined in the new bill. In this bill, there is a proposal to create a separate Auqaf Board for Bohras and Aagakhanis. There is a provision in the draft to give representation to Other Backward Classes, Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Agakhani among Muslim communities.
4- Shouldn’t there be a system to protect Waqf Board property from corrupt Muslim leaders who have captured it?
Muslims created Waqf under Islamic law by donating a large part of their property. Islamic religious leaders believe that property should be used only for charitable purposes for which it was donated by our ancestors. But here such a huge board does not have the money for the welfare of poor Muslims. Because the powerful Muslims have not only captured the board but also have control over the Waqf lands. Javed Ahmed, Chairman of the Waqf Welfare Forum, says that if the new bill can be implemented properly then the minority will benefit a lot. Javed says that Owaisi’s work is being done on properties worth Rs 3 thousand crores or more in Telangana. This property belongs to Waqf. The Act says that Waqf property cannot be taken on lease for more than 30 years. But it is not being followed. Also, in return the Waqf gets a very nominal rent, whereas as a rule this rent should be as per the market.
Not only Owaisi, there are many other powerful people in the Muslim community who have been taking Waqf property on lease for years. Jamaat-e-Ulama Hind has a lot of Waqf property in Delhi. But neither the board nor the deprived Muslims are getting any benefit from this. Similarly, Maharashtra Waqf Board Chairman Qazi Sameer has encroached on 275 acres of Waqf. There will be two hundred such leaders and institutions. Javed says that if the bill comes, there will be transparency.
5-What is wrong if collectors survey Waqf properties?
In the original Act, there is a provision for the appointment of survey commissioners for the survey of Waqf properties. But in the amendment bill, the Collector or Deputy Collector will be the survey commissioner. Responsibility cannot be given to an officer of lower rank than this. Opponents are calling it interference of the government in religious matters. But the arrangements of the famous Hindu temples of the country are also under the control of the government in many places. Secondly, such a huge property also raises the question of law and order. It is also possible that the land which is being surveyed by the Waqf Board may be claimed by a person of some other religion. Therefore, it would be better if a government official conducts this survey. That officer can be of any religion. When the archaeological survey of Ram Janmabhoomi land was being conducted on the orders of the court, KK Muhammad played a big role. No Hindu had raised the demand that only a Hindu should conduct the survey of Ram’s birthplace. Anyway, the government is not interfering in mosques or any customs of Muslim religion.