ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Chairman Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) Altaf Hussain Wani has expressed serious concerns over the recently introduced WAQF (Amendment) Bill in the Indian parliament, saying it could potentially impact the Muslim community, their religious, social and political rights.
In a letter addressed to Hissein Brahim Taha, the Secretary General Organizations of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the KIIR chairman said that the controversial Bill poses significant threat to the management and autonomy of WAQF properties, which serve as vital resources for maintaining mosques, schools and social services.
The changes to ownership rules outlined in the WAQF amendment bill, he said, have sparked concerns among the Muslim community within India and Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir because of its potential impact on management of the historical Dargahs, mosques and graveyards currently owned by the Board.
Wani said that noted religious scholars within and outside India have opposed the Bill and likened the BJP government’s move to a virtual takeover of autonomous bodies.
WAQF Board
“Any alterations to ownership rules and management system could undermine the cultural and religious rights of the Muslim community, particularly in sensitive regions like Kashmir. It could threaten their ability to sustain these essential institutions,” the letter said, adding the sole motive behind the move was to render WAQF Board a useless body with no power or authority to take decisions on key matters.
The letter, commenting on other aspects of the amendment Bill, stated that the renaming of the Act dilutes its historical significance, while on the other hand several ‘controversial provisions’ proposed in the Bill, including changing the composition of the Board and allowing non-Muslims to serve on WAQF Boards but barring them from creating or donating to body, creates inconsistencies in governance.
Furthermore, the letter said that redefinition of WAQFs under Section 3 alters their traditional legal standing, potentially weakening their foundational protections.
Referring to the Indian government’s misleading propaganda against the WAQF Boards, Wani said that the claims being made by the Indian government that WAQF is the third-largest property holder after the Railways and Army was utterly misleading.
He said that Hindu religious institutions in just three states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana alone hold over 10,37,358 acres of land.
Citing the sweeping amendments in the Bill, the letter said, “Deletions of Sections 107 and 108 further makes WAQF Boards vulnerable by imposing the Limitation Act, 1963, barring claims after a specific period, unlike Hindu endowment laws that retain similar exemptions.”
“The removal of Section 108 strips WAQFs of overriding legal status, despite similar provisions existing in Hindu endowment laws”, the letter further said. It further said that the Bill creates an unfair legal disparity, eroding religious rights.
Wani held that the Indian bid to change the composition of the WAQF boards pose a serious threat to Muslim representation in key decision-making process, potentially resulting in policies that do not reflect the community’s interests.
“This exclusion risks further marginalisation, weakening religious freedoms and disrupting the vital social cohesion that WAQF institutions support”, he added.
Furthermore, he said that the imposition of redundant legal and procedural requirements on waqf management was likely to create unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles for local trustees and community leaders.
Such complications, he said, might give rise to disputes, worsening tensions in an already delicate socio-political environment in regions such as Kashmir, where religious identity is closely intertwined with political realities.
