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Malegaon:
Minister of Awkaf Salman Khurshid is leaving no opportunity lost
to claim that the Waqf Amendment Bill 2010 is historic and pivotal
for the safety of the Waqf lands. The community leaders however are
not convinced and are trying hard to build a strong campaign against the
bill.
“Our opposition to certain sections in
the Waqf Amendment Bill 2010 is known even to Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh. In fact the Prime Minister on May 06 – a day before
the last day of the parliamentary session when the bill was passed – had assured to MP Mohd
Adeeb that the bill would not
be presented in the Parliament in its present form. Yet, Salman
Khurshid showing unnecessary haste pushed the bill with sections
that could have serious consequences”, said Ab Raheem Quraishi – one
of the secretaries of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).
Ab Raheem Quraishi was speaking to
ummid.com on phone after the meeting with senior advocates held in
Hyderabad to discuss the matter on June 20. The deliberations of
this meeting would be shared with the high level legal cell of the
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on June 24 in Mumbai.
Interestingly, speaking
to ummid.com a fortnight ago on the same issue, Minister of Awkaf
Salman Khurshid allayed the concerns raised by the Muslim leaders,
claiming the bill is actually beneficial for the safety and security of the Waqf
lands.
‘What is Waqf’
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Waqf Amendment Bill Highlights |
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Steps to be taken for reducing the scope of alienation of waqf
properties by prohibiting the sale and gift of waqf properties.
Stringent penal provisions to prevent encroachments and to
streamline the process of removal of encroachments.
For increasing the maximum permissible period of lease or
sub-lease of waqf properties from three years, as at present, to
thirty years so that the waqf properties are developed in such a
way as to derive maximum benefits and to apply the income to the
aims for which the wakf was created in the first place.
Specific time frame for completion of survey of auqaf and to
ensure that the list of auqaf based on the survey data is
appropriately reflected while updating the land records by the
revenue authorities.
For change in the composition of the Central Waqf Council and
State Waqf Boards so as to provide for representation of women
Professionals and experts in the Council or Boards, providing
statutory power of monitoring to the Central Waqf Council and to
authorize it to issue directives and advice in specific cases to
State Waqf Boards.
For constituting Tribunals, for the determination of all
disputes, questions and other matters relating to waqf or waqf
properties, as a three -member body consisting of a person not
below the rank of District, Session or Civil Judge Class I as
the Chairman and two other members, namely, an officer from the
State Civil Service equivalent in rank to that of Additional
District Magistrate and another person having knowledge of
Muslim law and jurisprudence. |
Thousands of acres of lands spread all
across the country, and hundreds of buildings and structures
having historical significance together make what the world knows as
Muslim Awqaf.
The institution of Waqf in India is 800 years old. It
began when Muslim rulers donated huge lands for charity. The
approximate number of registered Waqf properties in India is
3,00,000 and account for 4 lakh acres of land. According to the
deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Rahman Khan, this makes the
board the third-largest landholder after the railways and defence.
The significance that the Muslim Awqaf has
for the Muslims in India can be gauged from the observations made by Rahman Khan as the Chairman of the Join Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf.
He had
opined in his report that the government would not need any additional
fund, if only the Waqf properties are used effectively for the welfare
of the Muslims in India. This, he claims, even if the govt. utilizes
just 30% of the total.
However,
most of the Waqf lands at prime locations are either 'encroached over' or are
sold off at through away prices. There are even people who publicly
claim that many buildings located on Bahadur Shah
Zafar Marg in New Delhi including Nanak Hall, Maulana Azad Medical
College, Panth Hospital, Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Link House,
the offices of National Herald, Gandhi Peace Foundation and Indian
Express, and also part of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Supreme Court
building, Indian Parliament and ITO are all constructed on Waqf
lands. To ensure the safety of the remaining, except claims and
promises, nothing concrete has come from the government so far.
‘Waqf Amendment Bill 2010’
The baby of the Congress
led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Waqf Amendment Bill is part
of the government’s initiatives introduced following the recommendations
of the Sachar Committee and an attempt to protect the Waqf lands from misuse. Prior to the introduction of the bill, the government in its
first term, had constituted a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)
headed by Rajya Sabha Dy Chairman Rahman Khan.
Later, the
bill
which the government claims is a legislation to strengthen and improve the management and administration
of the Waqf in India
was introduced in the Lok Sabha on
April, 27 and finally passed on
May, 07 – the last day of the recently concluded parliamentary session. The bill now needs approval from the
Rajya Sabha - the upper house of the Indian Parliament before it
becomes a law. Incidentally, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) does not have enough numbers in
the Rajya Sabha needed to pass a legislation.
‘Concerns of the Ulema’
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Important recommendations by AIMPLB |
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Status of the Waqf lands after the Independence:
The AIMPLB recommended that the government should consider all
the lands under the possession of the community on August 15,
1947 – the day India became Independent - as the sole property of
the Waqf.
Inclusion of local representatives in the Waqf Boards:
Earlier, there
was a practice to include 2 representatives from local
organizations in state Waqf boards. AIMPLB had demanded to
bring transparency in the nominations. The Ministry abolished
the very idea of including local representatives in the
boards.
Removal of conditions on the lands donated to the Waqf by
non-Muslim rulers:
The AIMPLB had
recommended to remove such conditions as there
always are the examples when rulers – Muslim or non-Muslim –
donated lands to their subjects irrespective of their religion.
Upgrading entries in revenue departments:
The AIMPLB had recommended to upgrade entries in the Revenue
Department
so that the Waqf lands that are ‘encroached’ by the governments
in various states in the name of road-widening and other such
tasks are stopped. |
The
clerics are expressing serious concerns over the bill ever since it
is passed in the Lok Sabha. They are of the view
that since the government itself has misused and encroached over the Waqf lands in a very large scale, it is not serious in their
protection.
“At the time when
the bill was taking shape, recommendations were sent both by the
Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and the All India Muslim
Personal Board (AIMPLB) to the concerned Ministry. However, the
Ministry ignored the important recommendations and added such
clauses that would ultimately prove harmful for the Waqf”, said Ab
Raheem Quraishi.
The Muslim leaders are specially
concerned about the clause 87 of the bill that according to them
would finally result in
"confiscation of the Muslim Awqaf".
"The clause 87 of the bill makes
registration of the land mandatory, and says, in case of dispute the
unregistered lands would not have any legal standing. The bill is
totally silent on the status of thousands of acres of lands across the
country that are not registered but are certainly property of the Waqf”, said Quraishi.
"Moreover", he added, "The
All India Muslim Personal Board (AIMPLB) had
recommended to upgrade entries in revenue departments
so that the Waqf lands that are ‘encroached’ over in various states in the name of road-widening and other such
tasks, are stopped. Even this important recommendation could not find a place
in the amendment bill".
‘Minister unruffled’
Union Minister of Awqaf Salman Khurshid, however, is completely unruffled.
He brushes off the very idea that the bill would ultimately result
in confiscation of the Muslim Awqaf. Instead, he believes, the bill would strengthen the Awqaf and would play a pivotal role in protecting them from misuse.
“There are some “miscreant elements” trying to create confusion
about the Waqf Amendment Bill – a historic step taken by the
Congress-led UPA government for the safety and protection of the Waqf
lands, and in order to eradicate their misuse”, Salman Khurshid said
while speaking to ummid.com on phone.
“We are taking unprecedented efforts not only to end misuse of the
Waqf lands but also to ensure that they are used for the benefits of
the Muslim community. The bill is an important step towards
achieving this goal”, he added.
Salman Khurshid was replying to the concerns raised by the All India
Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the reports that said the
government “through a bureaucratic move is trying to pass a
legislation de-recognizing all Awqaf unless they are registered with
the authorities”.
“All that we are trying to do with this bill is,
to encourage registration of Waqf lands. When they are
registered with the authorities, in case of dispute, it would be
easier for the courts to take a decision”, he said.
On the possible impact of the bill on Babri Masjid case, the
Minister said, “The fact is that as against the propaganda by few
communal leaders, Babri Masjid and the lands in questions are
registered with the waqf board. Hence to say that the legislation
would any way affect the case of Babri Masjid is far from
realisation.”
He also ridiculed the reports that Congress had taken advantage of
the thin attendance on Friday - when Muslim members of Parliament
are normally absent for the Friday prayers - and in their absence
rushed the bill through the Lok Sabha.
“It is true that we rushed the legislation through the Lok Sabha.
However, to say that it was deliberately presented on
Friday when Muslim MPs were absent is totally baseless. It was the
last day of the session, and since we strongly believed that the
bill is beneficial, we wanted it to be passed without further
delay”, he said.
“Moreover”, he added, “Quite a few number of Muslim MPs including Maulana Badruddin Ajmal Qasmi were present when the debate on the
bill was on in the house. Moreover, Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi took
part in the debate before the passage of the bill”, he said.
'War of words
continues'
The clerics, however, are not ready to
buy Salman Khurshid's assurances. They even allege that he
is being used by a section in the government to push anti-community
legislations in the Parliament while the proposals - unanimously
believed to be beneficial for the minorities - are gathering dust in
the power corridors.
On the contrary, sources close to
Salman Khurshid claim that some people in the Capital are trying to
dislodge him from the Ministry hence they are creating "unnecessary
confusions" and raising doubts over "all the good things" the
government is doing on his behest. Their apprehensions gain credence as buzz is taking
rounds in New Delhi that lobbying is being done to replace Salman Khurshid with Rahman Khan - the Chairman
of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf and the man regarded
by his 'promoters' as a champion of poor Muslims and an expert at handling Waqf issues.
Meanwhile, amid the war of words between the
community leaders and by the time they bring consensus on the bill -
in the words of Saba Naqvi of Outlook - the Waqf lands that
should have been used for the welfare of the Indian Muslims continue
to be mortgaged, sold and encroached upon with the connivance of the
very institutions and individuals responsible for safeguarding it.
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