WAR OVER WAQF

The passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament this week signifies a watershed moment in the governance of religious endowments in India, fundamentally altering the administrative structure that has overseen Islamic charitable properties for decades.

- Kaushik Deka

The legislation, now renamed the 'Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act (UMEED), 1995,' has ignited fierce debate about religious autonomy and property rights. For supporters, the amendments promise transparency and accountability; for critics, they threaten nothing less than state appropriation of religious heritage.

The reforms target longstanding challenges in waqf administration. Waqf boards, established as statutory bodies under the Waqf Act, administer these properties at the state level. Each board includes government nominees, Muslim legislators, Bar Council members, Islamic scholars and property managers. The Central Waqf Council, established in 1964, provides national oversight (see What's Waqf?).

However, encroachments remain a concern, with messy documentation problems across the country. Several states, including Gujarat and Uttarakhand, have not even begun surveying waqf properties; others like Uttar Pradesh continue to struggle with incomplete records years after surveys were ordered.

The bill’s journey through Parliament reflected India’s polarised political landscape. Opposition parties under the INDIA bloc unanimously rejected the legislation, arguing it violates constitutional guarantees of religious autonomy under Articles 25 and 26. The parliamentary process itself became contentious when Opposition members accused Joint Parliamentary Committee chairman Jagdambika Pal of “bulldozing” proceedings and removing their dissent notes without consent. Six Opposition MPs formally protested to the Lok Sabha Speaker, describing the committee’s handling as “an atrocious onslaught on constitutional religion and Parliament”.