India’s parliament passes bill that would change Muslim land endowments

SRINAGAR India AP India s parliament passed a controversial bill moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi s Hindu nationalist ruling body to amend laws governing Muslim land endowments while Muslim groups and opposition parties protested the move The bill would add non-Muslims to boards that manage waqf land endowments and give the establishment a larger role in validating their land holdings The executive says the changes will help to fight corruption and mismanagement while promoting diversity but critics fear that it will further undermine the rights of the country s Muslim minority and could be used to confiscate historic mosques and other property The debate was heated in both houses of parliament The Lower House debated it Wednesday through early Thursday while in the Upper House the fiery discussion lasted more than hours into early Friday The Congress-led opposition firmly opposed the proposal calling it unconstitutional and discriminatory against Muslims Modi s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lacks a majority in the Lower House but its allies helped to pass the bill In the Lower House members voted for the bill while were against it Similarly favored it and voted against it in the Upper House The bill will now be sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent to become law Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the bill to change a law that set rules for the foundations and set up state-level boards to administer them A large number of Muslim groups as well as the opposition parties say the proposal is discriminatory politically motivated and an attempt by Modi s ruling party to weaken minority rights The bill was first introduced in parliament last year and opposition leaders have mentioned various of their subsequent proposals on it were ignored The establishment has explained opposition parties are using rumors to discredit them and block transparency in managing the endowments What s a waqf Waqfs are a traditional type of Islamic charitable foundation in which a donor permanently sets aside property often but not consistently real estate for religious or charitable purposes Waqf properties cannot be sold or transferred Waqfs in India control properties that cover hectares million acres of land worth an estimated billion Particular of these endowments date back centuries and a multitude of are used for mosques seminaries graveyards and orphanages Law would change who runs waqfs In India waqf property is managed by semi-official boards one for each state and federally run union territory The law would require non-Muslims to be appointed to the boards Presently waqf boards are staffed by Muslims like similar bodies that help administer other religious charities During the parliamentary debate Home Minister Amit Shah stated non-Muslims would be included in waqf boards only for administration purposes and helping run the endowments smoothly He added that they were not there to interfere in religious affairs The non-Muslim members will monitor whether the administration is running as per law or not and whether the donations are being used for what they were intended or not he disclosed Muslim groups like The All India Muslim Personal Law Board declared such comments were against the fundamentals of Islamic endowments as such bodies necessarily need to be governed by Muslims only The board noted the bill was a blatant infringement on the constitutional rights of Muslim citizens and called on citizens to hit the streets against it Mallikarjun Kharge the Congress president declared why should waqf bodies allow non-Muslims as members when Hindu temple trusts don t allow people of other religions in their fold One of the preponderance controversial changes is to ownership rules which could impact historical mosques shrines and graveyards since several such properties lack formal documentation as they were donated without legal records decades and even centuries ago Questions about title Other changes could impact mosques on land held in centuries-old waqfs Radical Hindu groups have laid claim to several mosques around India arguing they are built on the ruins of crucial Hindu temples Numerous such cases are pending in courts The law would require waqf boards to seek approval from a district level officer to confirm the waqfs contends to property Critics say that would undermine the board and could lead to Muslims being stripped of their land It s not clear how often the boards would be solicited to confirm such contends to land The Waqf Amendment Bill is a weapon aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights Rahul Gandhi the main opposition leader wrote on social media platform X He mentioned the bill was an attack on the Constitution by the BJP and its allies aimed at Muslims in the present day but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future Fears among Muslims While several Muslims agree that waqfs suffer from corruption encroachments and poor management they also fear that the new law could give India s Hindu nationalist regime far greater control over Muslim properties particularly at a time when attacks against minority communities have become more aggressive under Modi with Muslims often targeted for everything from their food and clothing styles to inter-religious marriages Last month the U S Commission on International Religious Freedom explained in its annual assessment that religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate while Modi and his party propagated hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities during last year s ballot campaign Modi s regime says India is run on democratic principles of equality and no discrimination exists in the country Muslims who are of India s billion population are the largest minority group in the Hindu-majority nation but they are also the poorest a authorities survey ascertained Source