2 Non-Muslim Members Among 14 Changes in Waqf Amendment Bill

Post by: Omar Nasser

Photo : X / @AprajitaSarangi

A parliamentary committee has agreed to 14 changes to the Waqf Amendment Bill. This bill was first presented in the Lok Sabha last year. The bill aims to change how Muslim charitable properties, called waqf, are managed in India. These changes have caused a lot of debate.

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One important change is about the requirement for two non-Muslim members on waqf councils at both state and national levels. The original bill said that two non-Muslim members were needed. The new bill says that the members could be either Muslim or non-Muslim, depending on who is nominated. This means there could be more than two non-Muslim members if the nominated members are also not Muslim.

Another important change is that an officer chosen by the state will now decide if a property is waqf, instead of the District Collector, which was in the original bill. This is a big change in the management of waqf properties.

The new law will not apply to waqf properties that are already registered. However, Congress leader Imran Masood raised concerns because around 90% of waqf properties are not yet registered, and this could create problems.

These changes were suggested by members of the ruling BJP party, including MPs Nishikant Dubey, Tejasvi Surya, and Aparajita Sarangi. One of the changes says that anyone who wants to donate land to waqf must prove they have been practicing Islam for at least five years and confirm that there was no trickery involved in the donation.

The ruling party and its allies made 23 suggestions for changing the bill, while opposition members made 44 suggestions, but none of their ideas were accepted. The committee voted along party lines to reject the opposition's ideas, with 16 BJP members voting against the 10 opposition members.

A vote on whether to approve the 14 changes will happen on January 29, and the final report will be submitted by January 31. The deadline to file the report was extended to February 13, the last day of the Budget Session.

Some critics, including Trinamool leader Kalyan Banerjee and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, have said that the bill could hurt religious freedom. They believe that it violates the rights of people to practice their religion and the rights of minority groups to run their own schools.

The Waqf Act of 1995, which controls waqf properties, was last changed in 2013. The new changes are seen by some as a way to help Muslim women, who are believed to have been treated unfairly under the old law. But not everyone agrees with the changes, and there has been a lot of discussion in Parliament.

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