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

• India's parliament passed a arguable measure that amends laws governing Muslim onshore endowments, known arsenic waqfs, by including non-Muslims connected the boards that negociate these properties and expanding authorities oversight. 
• The authorities claims the changes purpose to combat corruption and beforehand diversity, but critics reason it undermines Muslim rights and could pb to the confiscation of historical spiritual sites.
• Muslim groups and absorption parties person expressed concerns that the measure is politically motivated, and could marginalize Muslims by altering ownership rules and requiring waqf boards to validate spot claims. 

India's parliament passed a arguable measure moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist authorities to amend laws governing Muslim onshore endowments, portion Muslim groups and absorption parties protested the move.

The measure would adhd non-Muslims to boards that negociate waqf onshore endowments and springiness the authorities a larger relation successful validating their onshore holdings. The authorities says the changes volition assistance to combat corruption and mismanagement portion promoting diversity, but critics fearfulness that it volition further undermine the rights of the country’s Muslim number and could beryllium utilized to confiscate historical mosques and different property.

The statement was heated successful some houses of parliament. The Lower House debated it Wednesday done aboriginal Thursday, portion successful the Upper House, the fiery treatment lasted much than 16 hours into aboriginal Friday.

The Congress-led absorption firmly opposed the proposal, calling it unconstitutional and discriminatory against Muslims. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lacks a bulk successful the Lower House, but its allies helped to walk the bill.

MUSLIMS IN INDIA VOICE CONCERNS THAT NEW CITIZENSHIP LAW COULD FURTHER MARGINALIZE THEM

In the Lower House, 288 members voted for the measure portion 232 were against it. Similarly, 128 favored it and 95 voted against it successful the Upper House. The measure volition present beryllium sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent to go law.

Raza Academy members outcry slogans successful Mumbai, India, to condemn the Waqf amendment measure that was passed aboriginal Thursday by the Lower House of India's parliament, Thursday, April 3, 2025.  (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the measure to alteration a 1995 instrumentality that acceptable rules for the foundations and acceptable up state-level boards to administer them.

Many Muslim groups, arsenic good arsenic the absorption parties, accidental the connection is discriminatory, politically motivated and an effort by Modi’s ruling enactment to weaken number rights.

The measure was archetypal introduced successful parliament past year, and absorption leaders person said immoderate of their consequent proposals for it were ignored. The authorities has said absorption parties are utilizing rumors to discredit them and artifact transparency successful managing the endowments.

What’s a waqf?

Waqfs are a accepted benignant of Islamic charitable instauration successful which a donor permanently sets speech spot — often but not ever existent property — for spiritual oregon charitable purposes. Waqf properties cannot beryllium sold oregon transferred.

Waqfs successful India power 872,000 properties that screen 405,000 hectares (1 cardinal acres) of land, worthy an estimated $14.22 billion. Some of these endowments day backmost centuries, and galore are utilized for mosques, seminaries, graveyards and orphanages.

Law would alteration who runs waqfs

In India, waqf spot is managed by semi-official boards, 1 for each authorities and federally tally national territory. The instrumentality would necessitate non-Muslims to beryllium appointed to the boards.

Currently, waqf boards are staffed by Muslims, similar akin bodies that assistance administer different spiritual charities.

During the parliamentary debate, Home Minister Amit Shah said non-Muslims would beryllium included successful waqf boards lone for medication purposes and to assistance tally the endowments smoothly. He added that they were not determination to interfere successful spiritual affairs.

"The (non-Muslim) members volition show whether the medication is moving arsenic per instrumentality oregon not, and whether the donations are being utilized for what they were intended oregon not," helium said.

Muslim groups, similar The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said specified comments were against the fundamentals of Islamic endowments arsenic specified bodies needfully request to beryllium governed by Muslims only. The committee said the measure was "a blatant infringement connected the law rights of Muslim citizens" and called connected citizens to deed the streets against it.

Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress president, said, "Why should waqf bodies let non-Muslims arsenic members erstwhile Hindu temple trusts don’t let radical of different religions successful their fold?"

One of the astir arguable changes is to ownership rules, which could interaction humanities mosques, shrines, and graveyards, since galore specified properties deficiency ceremonial documentation arsenic they were donated without ineligible records decades, and adjacent centuries, ago.

Questions astir title

Other changes could interaction mosques connected onshore held successful centuries-old waqfs.

Radical Hindu groups person laid assertion to respective mosques astir India, arguing they are built connected the ruins of important Hindu temples. Many specified cases are pending successful courts.

The instrumentality would necessitate waqf boards to question support from a territory level serviceman to corroborate the waqfs’ claims to property.

Critics accidental that would undermine the committee and could pb to Muslims being stripped of their land. It’s not wide however often the boards would beryllium asked to corroborate specified claims to land.

"The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is simply a limb aimed astatine marginalizing Muslims and usurping their idiosyncratic laws and spot rights," Rahul Gandhi, the main absorption leader, wrote connected societal media level X. He said the measure was an "attack connected the Constitution" by the BJP and its allies "aimed astatine Muslims contiguous but sets a precedent to people different communities successful the future."

INDIA’S RELIGIOUS DIVIDE CONTINUES TO WIDEN BETWEEN MUSLIM, HINDU COMMUNITY

Fears among Muslims

While galore Muslims hold that waqfs endure from corruption, encroachments and mediocre management, they besides fearfulness that the caller instrumentality could springiness India’s Hindu nationalist authorities acold greater power implicit Muslim property, peculiarly astatine a clip erstwhile attacks against number communities person go much assertive nether Modi, with Muslims often targeted for everything from their nutrient and covering styles to inter-religious marriages.

Last month, the U.S. Commission connected International Religious Freedom said successful its yearly study that spiritual state conditions successful India continued to deteriorate portion Modi and his enactment "propagated hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and different spiritual minorities" during past year’s predetermination campaign.

Modi’s authorities says India is tally connected antiauthoritarian principles of equality and nary favoritism exists successful the country.

Muslims, who are 14% of India’s 1.4 cardinal population, are the largest number radical successful the Hindu-majority nation, but they are besides the poorest, a 2013 authorities survey found.

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