A significant meeting was held today at the Constitution Club by the well-known think tank, Institute of Objective Studies (IOS), to review the Waqf Act. The meeting was chaired by former Union Minister K. Rahman Khan and was attended by various intellectuals and Muslim leaders, including Professor Akhtarul Wasey, Dr. Zafar Mahmood, Advocate Yusuf Hatim Muchhala, Professor Z.M. Khan, Professor Afzal Wani, Mohammad Alam, Sheikh Nizamuddin, Professor Haseena Hashia, and Shams Tabrez Qasmi.
During the meeting, the participants thoroughly examined the current proposed Waqf Bill by the government and had detailed discussions about it. They unanimously agreed that the bill is detrimental to the interests of Muslims and could cause significant harm if implemented. The intellectuals asserted that no section of the bill is worth retaining, as it grants extensive powers to district collectors, making it easier for them to take over Waqf properties such as mosques, graveyards, madrasas, khanqahs, and shrines.
It was also noted that the Waqf Council and Waqf Boards, which were previously autonomous bodies, are now being placed under the control of the Indian government, which is a clear violation of the Constitution. Unlike this bill, religious properties of Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and other communities are governed by independent boards without any government interference. The participants strongly objected to the proposed bill’s provision allowing the government to appoint the Waqf Board chairman, which was previously done through elections by members. They also criticized the requirement for non-Muslim members on the Waqf Board, arguing that non-Muslims should not be involved in Muslim religious affairs and that this provision needs to be changed.
The participants expressed concern about the government’s interference in the Waqf properties of Muslims and questioned why similar interference is not present in the religious properties of other communities. It was suggested that all Muslim organizations should identify the flaws in the bill and present a unified response to the Joint Parliamentary Committee. Additionally, the IOS formed a five-member committee, with Mohammad Alam, the institute’s General Secretary, as the convener. This committee will review the proposed Waqf Act, identify provisions that are against Muslim interests, and submit its findings to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
