On hearing the name of Waqf Board, the common man understands that we are talking about some property related to Muslim religion. Perhaps this is why 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 over a sacred institution created for the welfare of the Muslim religion. Just think, the amount of land in the country that the army and the railways have, is only a little less than that, owned by an institution that is a puppet in the hands of a handful of people. Not only this, due to the appeasement policies of the Congress, during the UPA government, this institution got such a weapon, which it started misusing. The Waqf Board got such a right that it can declare any land as Waqf property. And if the board claims 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-Should there not be any rule regulation for the nine and a half lakh acre property?
Think about it once whether there should be rules and regulations for the care of nine and a half lakh acres of land or not. The government told the 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 Kiran Rijiju told the Lok Sabha, now the name of the Waqf Act 1995 will be changed to Integrated Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.
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The amendment bill takes care of registration and management of Waqf properties, transparency and efficiency. There is a provision of a central portal and database for this. Now before registering any property as Waqf, proper notice will be given to all concerned and a detailed process will have to be followed as per revenue laws. Why is the opposition seeing evil in this? Union Minister Kiran Rijiju told the Parliament that Waqf properties have not been managed properly. Waqf Board should be computerized, mutation should be in the revenue records. Rijiju taunted that the chairman of the JPC constituted for the Waqf Board Act has been your senior leader but we are doing what you could not do. In the House. Rijiju says support this bill, you will get the blessings of crores of people. A few people have captured the Waqf Board. The poor will not get justice. History will record who all were against it. The flaws that have remained in the 1955 Act from 2014 till today have been pointed out by many committees during the Congress regime. A major recommendation was made in the Wakf Inquiry Report in 1976. The method of audit and accounts is not proper, there should be complete management. It is clear that the same thing is happening which was demanded earlier by the Muslim community.
2-Should there not be a right to appeal in court against the claim of the Waqf Board on any land?
Till 2009, the Waqf Board had 3 lakh registered Waqf properties of up to 4 lakh acres. In just 13 years, the Waqf land doubled. 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 brought amendments in the Basic Waqf Act of 1995 and gave more powers to the Waqf Boards. The Act was amended to give unlimited powers to the Waqf Boards to take away 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 provision for reviewing any board which does something in the court, then how did it become unconstitutional. For how many years, the people sitting in the Waqf Board coordinate and give decisions in the tribunal. You cannot challenge that decision in any court. It is a matter of thought whether this method is democratic? No law in the country can be a super law.
Shocking examples of Waqf Board’s arbitrariness and scams:
There are many examples of misuse of this law in the country. On Thursday, in the Lok Sabha, Rijiju discussed some such cases which have already found place in the media. Rijiju discussed a case of Bohra community. There is a trust in Mumbai which launched Asia’s largest scheme. Someone complained about that property to the Waqf Board and the Waqf Board notified it. 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 Tiruchirapalli 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 2012, the Karnataka Minority Commission report said that the Wakf Board had converted 29 thousand acres of land into commercial property. Whereas everyone knows that the land of the Wakf Board can be used only for religious and social purposes.
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 they cannot become members 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. These bodies will also have representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims. 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 State Waqf Board. The method of registration of Waqf will be streamlined through a central portal and database.
The new bill defines Aghakhani and Bohra Waqf. This bill proposes to form a separate Waqf Board for Bohras and Aghakhanis. The draft provides for representation of Other Backward Classes, Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Aghakhani among Muslim communities.
4-Shouldn’t there be a system to protect Waqf Board properties from the corrupt Muslim leaders who have taken over them?
Muslims donated a large part of their property and made it a Waqf under Islamic law. Islamic religious leaders believe that the property should be used only for those charitable purposes for which it was donated by our ancestors. But here, such a huge board does not have money for the welfare of poor Muslims. Because the powerful Muslims have not only captured the board but also the Waqf lands. Waqf Welfare Forum Chairman Javed Ahmed says that if the new bill is implemented properly, the minorities will benefit a lot. Javed says that Owaisi’s work is going on on property worth 3 thousand crores or more in Telangana. This property belongs to the Waqf. The Act says that the wealth of the Waqf cannot be leased for more than 30 years. But this is not being followed. Also, in return, the Waqf gets a very nominal rent, whereas according to the rules, this rent should be according to the market.
Not only Owaisi, there are many other powerful people in the Muslim community who have been leasing Waqf property for years. Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Hind has a lot of Waqf property in Delhi. But neither the board nor the deprived Muslims are getting any benefit from it. Similarly, Qazi Sameer, the President of Maharashtra Waqf Board, has encroached upon 275 acres of Waqf. There must be two hundred such leaders and institutions. Javed says that if the bill comes, there will be transparency.
5- What is wrong if the collector conducts a survey of Waqf properties?
In the original act, there is a provision for appointment of survey commissioners for survey of Waqf properties. But in the amendment bill, the collector or deputy collector will be the survey commissioner. The responsibility cannot be given to an officer of a lower rank than this. Opponents are calling it government interference in religious matters. But the management of famous Hindu temples of the country is also under the government at many places. Secondly, the question of law and order also arises with such a large property. It is also possible that the land whose survey is being done by the Waqf Board, a person of another religion is claiming rights on it. Therefore, it is better if a government official does this survey. That officer can be of any religion. When the archaeological survey of the land of Ram Janmabhoomi was being done on the orders of the court, KK Muhammad played a big role. No Hindu had raised the demand that only a Hindu should survey Ram Janmabhoomi. Anyway, the government is not interfering in mosques or any customs of the Muslim religion.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)