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Former Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, K Rahman Khan, an authority on Waqf matters, led two Joint Parliamentary Committees in 1999 and 2008 to look into the functioning of Waqf boards.
In an interview with The Quint, Khan outlines the flaws in The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, proposed recently by the BJP-led NDA.
Q: How do you read the BJP-led NDA government's intentions in pushing for the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, when it was aware that it would be sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), going by precedents when similar amendments to the Waqf Act in 1999 and 2008 were also referred to the JPC?
A: The intentions of the NDA government are not to help in implementing or administering Waqf properties in the country. They have deliberately misled the people by saying they are bringing the amendments to ensure transparency and accountability. Rather, it's the other way around to remove all amendments that were made to the Waqf Act, 1995, by UPA II in 2013 to protect Waqf lands from encroachment, which was hailed by all.
Q: Is it then a conspiracy by the BJP-led NDA government as alleged by the INDIA bloc parties to polarise votes with an eye on the assembly elections of some states this year?
A: No doubt about it as elections are due in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand. The amendments are not only to polarise the votes but to help certain sections of society, which have grabbed vast parcels of Waqf land, particularly in Haryana, Punjab, and New Delhi. In the proposed Waqf legislation, the Waqf tribunals, who were the arbiters to decide on the ownership of the properties, have been replaced by deputy collectors or deputy commissioners.
Q: Do you see any majoritarianism by the BJP in amending the Waqf Act within a short span of returning to power?
A: The proposed amendments are a new way to target Muslims. In the BJP's election manifesto of 2009, the party had said that if it came to power, it would implement the recommendations of the report by K Rahman Khan's JPC. In that JPC, the maximum support to me came from the BJP, more than the Muslim members.
One of the recommendations was to establish the National Waqf Development Corporation to generate revenue from the Waqf properties, which was implemented by the UPA government with a Rs 500 crore capital. It has become dysfunctional in the last 10 years.
Q: One of the most contentious provisions in the proposed legislation is Section 40 which is going to take away the Waqf Board's powers to designate a property as "Waqf land." What do you make of this?
A: The NDA government is trying to project as if the Waqf boards whimsically declare properties as those belonging to them. There is a process involved, where the boards collect information about any land which they believe belongs to them, a survey is done, and objections are called for before the tribunal takes a call.
Now, all the powers of the survey commissioners will vest with the deputy collectors, who are otherwise preoccupied with other work. Hence, while the eviction or declaration of a property as Waqf is a priority for the boards, the district administrators will delay taking a decision. The entire objective is to bring the boards totally under the government. They are weakening the tribunals by doing away with the technical members as the intention is to usurp Waqf lands. The proposed legislation will not check encroachments but embolden the encroachers.
Q: Former Union Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani has said that to look at the Waqf boards only from the perspective of property would be myopic. She has pointed out that some Waqf boards have overstepped their boundaries, delving into judicial and legal territories that fall outside their intended functions. She has quoted the example of the Telangana Waqf Board, which handles divorces and marriages. Another example cited by her is of the Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslims...
A: Smriti Irani's argument is a silly one. I have been a member of the Karnataka State Waqf Board and no board deals with religious matters. For instance, members of the Moon Sighting Committee meet in the Waqf Board offices to declare whether it has been sighted or not, but that cannot be construed as overstepping boundaries.
Q: As proposed in the Bill, is the inclusion of two women members on Waqf boards a sign of their empowerment, which the NDA government is claiming to champion, after it, for example, abolished Triple Talaq?
A: The existing Act of 1995 has provisions for giving representation to women and the Karnataka State Waqf Board has women as members. The entire idea of the NDA government is to mislead and the proposed legislation has done away with the democratic process of appointing members, which will be through nominations now.
Q: In the context of a majority of Muslim intellectuals and organisations opposing the amendments, how relevant is the support to the proposed Bill by the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council with prominent Sajjadanashins (spiritual heads) giving the nod to it?
A: There is a section of Muslims, whom the BJP is cultivating under the aegis of the BJP Muslim Manch. These people are pampered with promises to involve them in their share of power. The Sajjadanashins or Sufi saints do not represent the voice of India's Muslims.
Q: What is your opinion on having separate Waqf boards for the Aga Khanis and Bohras to bring inclusivity and also have non-Muslims on the board?
A: We can only have Sunni or Shia Waqf boards. The motive is only to divide the Muslims, as the Bohras and Aga Khanis, who are Shias, are very close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They are also economically well off and cannot be clubbed as marginalised Muslims. They don't mingle with mainstream Muslims, and therefore, to have separate boards for them is an unviable proposition. Having non-Muslims on the boards is unacceptable. Are there Muslims in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Trust Board, or in Gurudwaras? This is a move to pit Muslims against the Hindus.
Q: Can you elaborate on your views that Muslims are just emotionally attached to the Waqf concept and nothing beyond that, and have failed to play an active role in protecting Waqf properties?
A: Every community will have an emotional attachment to its religious places. When a land is declared as a Waqf, the beneficiaries are the people and it becomes the government and society's responsibility to protect it. Also the waqif (donor), he/she gives a property to earn the goodwill of Allah. Once it is given, an individual loses ownership and it lies with God.
The Supreme Court has said once a property is transferred, its owner is God perpetually. The proposed amendments go against this perpetuity. In Hyderabad, the land on which the hi-tech city has come up, belongs to a dargah. The then Andhra Pradesh government had taken it under the Inam Abolition Act, but it proved to be a Waqf land, given for the maintenance of the dargah. The matter is now before the Supreme Court with the government challenging the tribunal's order.
Q: Do you think if the Muslim community had been vigilant, it would not have been possible for the government to bring the amendments?
A: There are lapses on the part of the community too as the majority of encroachers are Muslims. Since the community did not take much of an interest in protecting its properties, the government has stepped in.
(Naheed Ataulla is a senior political journalist based in Bengaluru. This is an opinion article and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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