In a recent event in Hyderabad, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi may have exposed the Waqf Board! He made an eye-opening statement on Waqf Amendment Bill 2024. Inadvertently and unexpectedly, MP Owaisi’s words did do a good job! Just not in the way he intendend! His words awoke Sleeping Sanatanis to the glaring reality of how simple land grabbing is under the Waqf Act.
Discussing the proposal for amendment to the Waqf Act, MP Owaisi warned that if the law were amended, More than 1 Lakh Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh could lose their Waqf protection.
Why? Because they lack proper documentation. Therefore, in his own words, Owaisi exposed that without the ‘Waqf by User’ clause, these lands would no longer be under the claws of the Waqf Board! But wait – doesn’t this reveal a much bigger problem?!
Waqf Board and The ‘Waqf by User’ Clause?
The ‘Waqf by User’ clause is a vague provision in the Waqf Act. It allows properties to be classified as Waqf simply based on long-standing usage. Even without formal documentation, the property can be claimed by the Waqf Board. While this may have seemed like a practical solution in medieval or pre-Independence India, the potential for misuse in modern Bharat is glaring.
The ‘Waqf by Use’ allows properties to be put under Waqf Board control, often without clear legal records, leading to numerous disputes over land ownership.
A big admission by Owaisi : He says that out of 1.21 lakh Waqf board properties in UP, 1.12 lakh don't have valid papers, which means they're illegal. pic.twitter.com/0MpC6mKIMv
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) September 21, 2024
This is where Owaisi’s statement gets interesting. By highlighting the absence of documents for a vast majority of Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh, he has unwittingly exposed the need for tighter regulations. The BJP’s IT Cell Head Amit Malviya, quickly pointes out the truth hidden in MP Owaisi’s words. Moreover, he wonders about the how many properties are claimed by Waqf Boards without valid documents. Thus, Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 isn’t a Hindu appeasement or Islamophobic document. It is a call for reform in a deeply flawed legalized system of Land Grabbing.
So, Asaduddin Owaisi admits that out of 1.21 lakh Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh, there are no documents of 1.12 lakh properties! This is part of the problem. Waqf has illegally claimed several properties, most owned by poor Muslims, to be theirs, without valid documents. https://t.co/yz5RwRxnAp
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 21, 2024
Waqf by User – A Recipe for Land Confusion
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi accepts that WAQF misuses its powers, says ' "Out of 1,21,000 Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh, 1,12,000 Waqf properties don't have documents"
The problem with the lobby is they shield massive illegality due to their vote bank compulsions. pic.twitter.com/bepCBreyxY
— Pradeep Bhandari(प्रदीप भंडारी)🇮🇳 (@pradip103) September 21, 2024
Imagine this, out of the total 1.5 lakh properties, over 70% of Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh don’t have documents. Thus, it means that the Waqf Board is, in effect, staking a claim on land simply because someone says the land is being used for Waqf purposes. But what happens when this rule is removed or amended?
MP Owaisi’s concerns stem from the fact that the land under the control of the Waqf Board shall revert back to the last known owner or the government.
He asks, “Who will take the land?” However, the better question would be why do so many properties lack proper documentation in the first place? If legal rights are murky, the government can step in and claim these lands. In a country where land is precious, this repurposed land could be put to better use than exclusive yet unprovable Waqf control!
Need For Waqf Amendment Act 2024!
Let’s be honest, if over 1,12,000 properties are undocumented, something has gone terribly wrong in the way the Waqf functions. The ‘Waqf by User’ clause may have originally served a purpose. However, in its current form, it leaves too much room for misuse. Therefore, reforming the Waqf Act could bring much-needed transparency to streamline the use and claim of properties. Thereby, ensuring that only properly documented properties are controlled by the Waqf Board.
MP Owaisi may have intended to sound the alarm on protecting Waqf lands, but in doing so, he might have inadvertently exposed the real need to reform the Waqf Act itself!
वक्फ बोर्ड की सच्चाई जानकर हो जाएंगे हैरान!
देखिए रिपोर्ट…#WaqfBoardpic.twitter.com/UHYS4cVIYa
— Raja Singh (@TigerRajaSingh) September 21, 2024
Ideally, Bharat should not have a Waqf Board. Many Islamic nations like Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Tunisia, and Iraq do not have a Waqf claiming, owning, or governing land. However, wishing away the existence of the Waqf Board is a pipedream. Thus, in reality, the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 is the only hope to address these gaping loopholes. Bharat needs to ensure that land grabbing and mismanagement of resources by the Waqf Board are minimized.
Moreover, Indians must feel reassured that their properties are protected based on legal merit; not based on tradition, assumption of ownership, or random unverifiable claims.
Thus, in the land of legal loopholes, the Waqf Board uses many clauses for land grabbing in Bharat. And leaving the Waqf Act with unchecked powers is like inviting unwanted trouble. Therefore, may MP Owaisi’s words ring alarm bells, however, not in the ears of his intended audience. Let his words instill fear in the hearts of the Le-Li gang and Sickulars to the truth of Waqf Act. Waqf Board needs to be controlled and regulated. Hence, it’s time to close the legal holes in the Waqf Act by enforcing the changes proposed in Waqf Ammendment Bill 2024.