Does new Bill seek to strip Muslims of control over waqf properties?

Waqf assets, comprising property or land donated by Muslims for charitable purposes and managed by members of the community, covers 8.7 lakh properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres across India, with an estimated value of Rs 1.2 lakh crore, according to a press note by the Union government. The same note informs us that this makes waqf boards the third largest landowners in India after the armed forces and Indian Railways.

The Waqf Act was comprehensively amended in 2013, based on the recommendations of a high-level committee under the chairmanship of justice (retd) Rajinder Sachar, the report of a joint parliamentary committee on waqf, and the Central Waqf Council, and after detailed consultation with other stakeholders.

However, this did not put an end to disputes, contentious claims and allegations of irregularities, which the Union government has now made a pretext to steamroll a new law by amending as many as 44 sections of the Waqf Act 1995.

Most Muslims are outraged and point out that the new law amounts to interference in the community’s affairs and also a blatant attempt to dispossess the largest minority of the wealth meant for the socio-economic uplift of the community.  

“To make the inclusion of non-Muslims in waqf boards is questionable,” said Jamaat-e-Islami Hind president Sadatullah Hussaini. He, however, welcomed the provision to include women in the boards. “It is there in the 1995 Act too. There is no problem with that,” he told The Hindu. He did, however, wonder if the women members would be from the Muslim community.

The government’s concern for the empowerment of Muslim women, several Muslims point out, does not seem to extend to Hindu religious and charitable trusts and temple management committees, which are not subject to such mandatory provisions. Nor are there provisions to include non-Hindus in their management boards. The point is likely to come up when Muslim bodies challenge the new Waqf Bill as and when it is passed and becomes law.

Some of the controversial amendments proposed by the government are as follows:

· No waqf can be created without the execution of a waqf deed. In Islamic law, a waqf dedication may be made either in writing or orally. Most waqf dedications in India are believed to have been made orally, which is the principal cause of disputes and litigation. The government can now take over all the disputed property

· The Bill proposes to withdraw the applicability of ‘adverse possession’ from waqf. Which would mean that any mosque, madrasa, orphanage etc. which has existed on waqf property for 12 years or more, can now be taken over by the government if there is no deed or if the waqf is disputed

· The new Bill provides for the collector or district magistrate to decide disputes and declare what is government property and what is not

· The Bill seeks to strip the Waqf Tribunal of its power to decide on disputes and initiates a 'collector raj'

· The Bill proposes inclusion of two Muslim women and two non-Muslim members in the waqf boards

· The Bill removes the requirement of the CEO of the board being Muslim. A non-Muslim too can now be appointed CEO

· No waqf deed must result in the denial of inheritance rights to heirs, including women. Many of the disputes related to waqf properties arise because after the death of the person making the waqf — even if they pass away years later — the heirs seek return of the property as inheritance. No prizes for guessing how the disputes will not be settled

The Bill requires all waqf registered under the Act to file and upload full details within six months of the amendments getting the approval of Parliament. It also provides for the establishment of a separate Board of auqaf for “Boharas and Aghakhanis”. The Bill also states, “Board shall have at least one member each from Shia, Sunni and other backward classes among Muslim Communities and one member each from Bohra and Aghakhani communities shall be nominated in the Board.” 

Supporters of the Bill argue it will bring much-needed reforms and end corruption and the monopolies over Waqf properties held by a segment of the Muslim community. Critics claim it represents yet another effort by the government to divide and polarise society.  Some sections of the Muslim community, particularly Shias, Bohras and Sufis, have voiced support for the amendments.