India’s upper house of parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the early hours of Friday, following intense debate and opposition walkouts. The legislation, which overhauls governance of centuries-old Muslim charitable properties worth billions, cleared the lower house a day earlier with 288 votes in favor and 232 against.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the bill’s passage as a “watershed moment” for transparency, while opposition leaders led by Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge denounced it as unconstitutional minority targeting by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The bill now awaits presidential assent, which constitutional experts expect within days given the BJP’s dominance across government institutions.
Why the Waqf Reform Sparks Fears of Government Overreach
The amendments fundamentally alter how India’s 200 million Muslims administer waqf properties – religious endowments encompassing mosques, madrassas, cemeteries and charities established since the Delhi Sultanate era. Under the new law:
1. Documentation Mandate: Properties historically recognized through oral waqf declarations or community use must now provide legal paperwork – a move critics say could strip thousands of sites of protected status.
2. Government Arbitration: Disputes over land ownership, particularly involving state-claimed properties, will be decided by government authorities rather than Islamic jurists.
3. Non-Muslim Board Members: Breaking with tradition, the bill permits non-Muslim appointments to Waqf boards and tribunals for the first time.
4. Centralized Digital Registry: All 600,000+ registered waqf properties must re-register within six months under a new national database, with the government gaining enhanced survey powers.
Muslim Leaders Warn of “Death by Paperwork” for Religious Sites
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has vowed legal challenges, arguing the documentation requirements deliberately target vulnerable properties. “Many ancestral waqfs predate British land records,” explains AIMPLB secretary Zafaryab Jilani. “This is bureaucratic extermination of our heritage.”
Opposition MPs highlighted how the bill reverses the 1995 Waqf Act’s community-led approach, replacing it with government oversight. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor warned parliament the changes could enable “hostile takeovers” of prime urban waqf land under the guise of administrative reform.
BJP’s Transparency Argument vs Minority Rights Concerns
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal defended the amendments as necessary to curb corruption, citing a 2022 Comptroller and Auditor General report that found ₹1.4 trillion ($17bn) in mismanaged waqf assets.
However, leaked minutes from the parliamentary standing committee reveal dissenting notes questioning why only Muslim trusts face such sweeping reforms when Hindu temples remain under state control.
Political analysts note the bill advances the BJP’s longstanding agenda of uniform civil code implementation, with Rajasthan’s recent takeover of Muslim-run schools foreshadowing potential waqf board interventions.
Why It Matters
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has expressed “deep concern,” while Indian stock markets reacted nervously to potential Gulf investment impacts. Domestically, the bill has galvanized Muslim civil society groups preparing mass petitions to state high courts.
With general elections looming, the controversy threatens to sharpen religious polarization – already at a decade high under BJP rule according to Pew Research.
As Prime Minister Modi frames this as governance reform and opponents decry it as institutionalized discrimination, the waqf battle may become a defining clash over India’s secular identity.
