India’s BJP Government Proposes Legislation to ‘Take Over’ Muslim Charitable Properties

There was high drama at a parliamentary committee meeting in the capital New Delhi last week, when opposition Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee was injured after he smashed a glass bottle during a heated argument at the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on the contentious Wakf Amendment Bill 2024.

The Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and the opposition bloc are at loggerheads with each other, and leading Muslim organizations have rejected the bill outright, perceiving it as a ploy by the Hindu supremacist BJP government to take over Muslim charitable properties.

An Arabic word, wakf is a charitable endowment of property and assets under Muslim law. Significantly, it is property donated in the name of God or Allah.

Wakf Boards in India administer all such properties that have been donated for charitable, religious, or pious use. With the community good being the driving motivation, wakf properties are used to run educational institutions, Muslim graveyards, mosques, and shelter homes.

Wakf is not a new concept; in India, it dates back to the Delhi Sultanate era in the 12th century CE. During British colonial rule, the concept of wakf was challenged in the 19th century by the Privy Council in London. However, it was subsequently restored in India by the Privy Council Act in 1913.

Following independence from colonial rule, the Jawaharlal Nehru government passed the Wakf Act in 1954, which led to the creation of the Central Wakf Council. In 1995, the Act was amended to enable the formation of Wakf Boards in each state and union territory. There are at present 30 Wakf Boards in India.

It must be noted that by law, wakf properties cannot be sold or transferred. The Wakf Board is a legal entity with the power to administer, acquire, and transfer such land. The Central Wakf Council is an advisory body to the government over wakf-related matters and operates under the Ministry for Minority Affairs. The ministry’s mandate extends to all religious minorities in India namely Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis.

In August this year, the Union Cabinet suddenly cleared a decision to bring in 40 amendments to the Wakf Act. The amendments are aimed at bringing far-reaching changes to the composition of Wakf Boards and the government’s regulation of Muslim charitable properties designated as wakf.

Under the Indian Constitution’s Article 24, all religious communities, including religious minorities, have the right to practice, profess, and propagate their religion. Muslim organizations, intellectuals, and opposition parties have accused the BJP government of infringing upon this right of Muslims with the proposed amendments to the Wakf Act.

The most contentious change being proposed is the alteration of the composition of the Wakf Board. At present, as per the statute, the board has one or two nominees from the state government, Muslim legislators, recognized Islamic scholars, and managers (or “mutawalli”) of the wakfs. The new bill mandates that the Wakf Board must include “two non-Muslims” as members. Moreover, the state government can now nominate three members of parliament and senior civil service officers to the Wakf Board, who are not necessarily Muslim.

Lashing out against the BJP’s intent, four-time member of the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of Parliament, Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), described the proposed legislation as “discriminatory” and a violation of the Fundamental Right to Freedom of Religion. He said the Modi government intends to take over not only wakf property but that of dargahs (Muslim shrines) and mosques, as well.

Brushing off these charges, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the bill would bring more transparency and parity for women. The bill mandates that two Muslim members in the Wakf Board and the Central Wakf Council must be women. Critics reject these as specious arguments to defend a divisive legislation.

Another controversial feature of the bill is that the 1995 Wakf Act empowered the Wakf Board to decide whether a property was wakf or not. The bill takes away this power. Rather, the district collector (appointed by the state government) is empowered to determine this. Not only will the collector, now survey the property but s/he will also decide and be the final arbiter in case of disputes.

Describing it as a “completely political move,” former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi asked why disputes should be decided by a government appointee like the collector.

Also, the bill stipulates that any government property identified as wakf will no longer be considered as wakf.  In fact, the collector will determine ownership and update revenue records. Critics of the bill have pointed to the blatant attempt of the government to centralize all powers and directly interfere in all matters relating to wakf in the name of “reform.”

It is not without reason that Muslims and opposition parties are apprehensive of the Wakf Act amendment bill. Ever since it assumed power the Modi government has consistently acted against the interests of minorities and rationalized it as “progressive reform.” Communal polarization and Islamophobia have been routinely practiced, not just by the BJP’s foot soldiers but by Modi himself for electoral benefit.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has threatened to oppose the bill at all costs, calling it a “dangerous legislation.”

Citing the many complaints regarding misuse of wakf property, the government tabled the bill in the lower house of Parliament in early August, highlighting how it will “improve the efficiency and management” of wakf properties. Muslim scholars have questioned why the government is more keen to tighten its control over Wakf Boards instead of tackling mismanagement and corruption within them.

To bolster its case, the government has cited demands for reform from within the multiple sects of the Muslim community. The bill allows separate Wakf Boards for Aghakhani and Bohra sects just as the Shias and Sunnis have at present.

Another argument being made by the government is that with over 900,000 acres of land, the Wakf Boards are the country’s “third largest real estate owners,” after the Indian Army and Indian Railways.

Strongly rebutting the government’s stance, Muslim leaders have pointed out how four states alone — Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Odisha — have “over 1 million acres as Hindu endowment land.”

With the government muscling its way through Parliament with regard to the passage of bills, the Congress-led opposition benches have vociferously opposed the bill and demanded that it be sent to a JPC for further scrutiny.  Parties like the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, states with large Muslim populations, are among those calling for a JPC.

Incidentally, since early October, JPC meetings have been witnessing stormy scenes with opposition parliamentarians accusing Chairperson Jagadambika Pal of the BJP of not conducting proceedings as per the rules. From summoning right-wing-leaning retired judicial officers to share their views to altering reports of the Delhi Wakf Board without consulting the Delhi chief minister, Pal is accused of acting arbitrarily.

In the last meeting, non-BJP members lodged their protest by walking out. It needs to be pointed out that the BJP is in a majority in the JPC, and the government is not bound to accept the recommendations of the committee.

It is no coincidence that, emboldened by the BJP’s ascent to power in 2014, Hindu organizations have been quick to stake claim to prominent Muslim mosques and wakf properties. One such is the long-standing case of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, which Hindu groups claim was built on the remains of the Kashi Vishwanath temple way back in 1669 during Muslim rule. While the Sunni Wakf Board has challenged the claims and submitted documentary proof of it being a registered wakf property, the district court has directed the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a thorough survey of the property.

The BJP’s strategy of communalization of every issue to polarize people to garner votes has been on full display over the past decade. The Wakf Act amendment bill is its latest ploy to victimize minorities and lionize the Hindu majority.