Indian parliament has approved a controversial bill on Muslim land donation

• Indian parliament has passed a controversial bill amending the law governing Muslim land funds known as WAQFS by including non-Muslims on boards that manage these properties and increase government oversight.
• The government has argued that change is aimed at fighting corruption and promoting diversity, but critics argue that it could undermine Muslim rights and lead to the confiscation of historic religious sites.
• Muslim groups and opposition parties have expressed concern about the bill’s politically motivated and could alienate Muslims by changing ownership rules and requiring the WAQF committee to verify property claims.

Indian Parliament Muslim groups and opposition parties protested the move after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government passed a controversial bill that moved by, to amend the laws governing Muslim land funds.

The bill adds non-Muslims to the board that administers WAQF’s land funds, giving the government a greater role in verifying land holdings. The government says the change will help combat corruption and mismanagement while promoting diversity, but critics fear it could be used to further undermine the rights of the country’s Muslim minority and confiscate historic mosques and other property.

The debate intensified in both chambers of Parliament. The House discussed Wednesday through early Thursday, but in the Senate, the fiery debate lasted more than 16 hours at the beginning of Friday.

The parliament-led opposition party firmly opposed the proposal, calling it unconstitutional; Discrimination against Muslims. Modi’s dominant Bharatiya Janata party lacks a majority in the House, but its allies helped pass the bill.

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In the House, 288 members voted for the bill while 232 people opposed it. Similarly, 128 people supported it, and 95 voted against it in the Senate. The bill will be sent to President Drapadi Mahm for her consent to become law.

Minister of Ethnic Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju introduced a bill that would change the 1995 law that would set basic rules and establish state-level boards to manage them.

Many Muslim and opposition groups say the proposal is discriminatory and politically motivated, and is an attempt by Modi’s ruling party to undermine the rights of minorities.

The bill was first introduced in Parliament last year, and opposition leaders say some of the subsequent proposals for it have been ignored. The government said the opposition parties are using rumors to trust them and blocking transparency in managing their contributions.

What is WAQF?

WAQFS is a traditional type of Islamic Charity Foundation, an Islamic charitable foundation that is a permanent Islamic charitable foundation for which donors place their property aside for religious or charitable purposes. WAQF properties cannot be sold or transferred.

India’s WAQFS manages 872,000 properties covering 405,000 hectares (1 million acres) of land, worth an estimated $142.2 billion. Some of these donations date back to centuries, many of which have been used in mosques, seminaries, cemeteries and orphanages.

Law changes who perform WAQFS

In India, WAQF properties are managed by semi-official committees, one for each state and federal coalition territories. The law requires that non-Muslims be appointed to the board.

Currently, the WAQF board is staffed by Muslims, like similar organizations that help manage other religious charities.

meanwhile Congressional debateHome Minister Amit Shah said that non-Muslims will be included in the WAQF board to help the fund operate smoothly for administrative purposes only. He added that they were not there to interfere with religious issues.

“(Non-Muslim) members monitor whether the administration is being implemented in accordance with the law and whether it is being used for what the donation is intended,” he said.

The Muslim group said such comments, like the All India Muslim Personal Law Commission, is against the foundations of Islamic Funds, where only Muslims should govern. The board said the bill was “a blatant violation of Muslim constitutional rights” and called on citizens to attack the streets.

Congress president Marikaljun Kalge ​​said, “Why should the WAQF body allow non-Muslims as members when the trust in Hindu temples does not allow people of other religions to fold them?”

One of the most controversial changes is the rules of ownership that can affect historical mosques, shrines and cemeteries. Because many such assets were donated without legal records from decades or even centuries ago, they lack formal documents.

Title questions

Other changes could affect mosques on land held at WAQFS centuries ago.

The radical Hindu group has claimed several mosques around India, claiming it was built on the ruins of an important Hindu temple. Many such cases are pending in court.

The law requires WAQF officers to seek approval from district-level officers to confirm WAQFS claims against their property.

Critics say it could undermine the board and lead to Muslims being stripped of their land. The frequency with which such claims will be asked to be confirmed with the land is not clear.

“The WAQF (Amendment) bill is a weapon intended to alienate Muslims and steal personal laws and property rights,” wrote Rahul Gandhi, a leading opposition leader, on social media platform X.

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Fear among Muslims

Many Muslims agree that WAQF suffers from corruption, violations and poor management, but fear that the new law will give India’s Hindu nationalist government greater control over Muslim property.

Last month, the US Committee on International Religious Freedom said in its annual report. Indian Religious Freedom State During last year’s election campaign, Modi and his party continued to deteriorate, “bred hatred rhetoric and disinformation towards Muslims and other religious minorities.”

Modi’s government says India operates on the democratic principle of equality and there is no discrimination within the country.

Muslims, which are 14% of India’s 1.4 billion population, are the largest minority group in a Hindu majority country, but they are also the poorest, a 2013 government survey found.

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