EDITORIAL ANALYSIS : Proposed amendment to Wakf Act policies charity
Kartavya Desk Staff
Source: Indian Express
• Prelims: Current events of national importance(democracy, waqf Act, waqf board, Article 25, 26, 30, Minorities etc
• Mains GS Paper I & II: Social empowerment, development and management of social sectors/services. Minorities and issues associated with them.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
• The government is slated to introduce the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Lok Sabha to amend the Waqf Act, 1995.
INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE
Context
Minorities:
• Currently, only those communities notified under section 2(c) of the NCM Act, 1992, by the central government are regarded as minority.
• Muslim minority(Census 2011): population of Muslims in India 2(fourteen point two)% of India’s population.
Minorities in India:
• It emanates from Islamic religious beliefs.
• It is not a religious obligation, but a form of religious charity.
• While creating a Waqf, a believer dedicates his self-acquired or inherited movable or immovable property in the name of God
• A believer states that the benefits from such properties are to be used for objectives in consonance with the Islamic understanding of charity.
• B K Mukherjea(former CJI): said that such charitable institutions (Waqf included) are essential to human existence and not exclusive to any community or set of people.
Key Amendments in Waqf Act (Amendment Bill), 2024:
● Transparency: The Bill outlines around 40 amendments to the current Waqf Act, including that Waqf Boards will be required to undergo mandatory verification for all property claims, ensuring transparency
● Gender Diversity: Sections 9 and 14 of the Waqf Act, 1995 will be amended to modify the composition and functioning of the Waqf Board, including the addition of women representatives.
● Revised Verification Procedures: New verification procedures will be introduced for Waqf properties to address disputes and prevent misuse, with district magistratespotentially overseeing these properties.
● Limited Power: The amendments respond to concerns about the Waqf Boards’ unchecked powers, which have led to extensive landbeing claimed as Waqf, causing disputes and misuse claims.
○ For example, in September 2022, the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board claimed the entire Thiruchendurai village, which is predominantly Hindu.
Issues in the Waqf amendment bill:
• Control over administration, management and further creation of new Waqfs: Waqf properties are the private and self-acquired properties of the followers of Islam, except those which non-Muslims may have donated. They are not public properties, nor have they been acquired using public funds.
• They are not public properties, nor have they been acquired using public funds.
• The proposed amendments seek to facilitate interference from “government organizations” in Waqf properties. This is a violation of the rights of Muslim citizens and Article 26, which protects the properties of religious denominations from take over.
• This is a violation of the rights of Muslim citizens and Article 26, which protects the properties of religious denominations from take over.
• Making the district collector the arbiter of whether a property is Waqf property or government land: It is a move to exclude Muslims from the management of Waqf properties at a time when even the private properties of Muslims are frequently threatened by bulldozers under the orders of the same collector.
• The requirement of a Muslim CEO in the Waqf Boards has been done away with.
• The government proposes to create several impediments to the creation of Waqfs . It has empowered itself and every single body extending up to the local panchayat to interfere in the existing Waqf properties.
• It has empowered itself and every single body extending up to the local panchayat to interfere in the existing Waqf properties.
• It has proposed to do away with the concept of “waqf by user”, which is the most common practice around the world. Innumerable Muslim graveyards and dedicated properties were taken over by the local residents because they were not used for waqf purposes for some time.
• Innumerable Muslim graveyards and dedicated properties were taken over by the local residents because they were not used for waqf purposes for some time.
Waqf Act, 1955:
● The Waqf act was first passed by Parliament in 1954.
○ It was later repealed, and a new Waqf Act was passed in 1995, which gave more powers to Waqf Boards.
○ In 2013, the Act was amended to grant the Waqf Board extensive powers to designate property as ‘Waqf Property.’
● Waqf: It is the permanent dedication of movable or immovable properties for religious, pious or charitable purposes as recognised by Muslim law.
○ It implies the endowment of property, whether immovable or immovable, tangible or intangible, to God by a Muslim, under the premise that thetransfer will benefit the needy.
○ The proceeds from a Waqf typically fund educational institutions, graveyards, mosques and shelter homes.
○ Waqfs in India are regulated by the Waqf act, 1995.
● Management of Waqf:
○ A survey commissioner lists all properties declared as Waqf by conducting local investigations,summoning witnesses, and requisitioning public documents.
○ The Waqf is managed by a mutawali,who acts as a supervisor.
○ Waqfs are specifically for religious and charitable uses and are intended to be perpetual.
○ Waqfs can be either public, serving charitable ends, or private, benefiting the property owner’s direct descendants.
● Waqf Board:
○ It is a legal entity capable of acquiring, holding and transferring property. It can sue and be sued in court.
○ It administers Waqf properties, recovers lost properties and sanctions the transfer of immovable Waqf properties
■ through sale, gift, mortgage, exchange, or lease, with at least two-thirds of the board members voting in favour of the transaction.
● The Central Waqf Council (CWC),established in 1964, oversees and advises state level Waqf Boards across India.
Way Forward
• The amendments reflect the presumption that government land has been taken over by the Waqf Board. The Collector makes the final decision in this regard and then directs the revenue authorities to give effect to his/her decision in the revenue record.
• The Collector makes the final decision in this regard and then directs the revenue authorities to give effect to his/her decision in the revenue record.
• By introducing the concept of adverse possession for Waqf properties, many could become victims to the Collector’s notes on a file.
• This encroachment of rights by the government is against the guarantees under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India.
• The proposed amendment will only add to the vulnerability, especially with regard to the properties they dedicate for religious and charitable purposes.
QUESTION FOR PRACTICE
Are tolerance, assimilation and pluralism the key elements in the making of an Indian form of secularism? Justify your answer.(UPSC 2022) (200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)