00:00From India's grandest monuments to your neighborhood mosque or Kabristan, chances are you're standing on Waqf land.
00:07But who owns this land and why did the parliament battle over it for 17 hours straight on two consecutive days?
00:15Welcome to Deep Dive with Outlook. Today, we break down the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025.
00:21In Islamic tradition, Waqf refers to a permanent dedication of property, land, building or even cash
00:27for religious or charitable causes. Once designated as Waqf, the ownership is believed to transfer to God.
00:35The person creating the Waqf is called a Waqif and the caretaker a Mutawalli.
00:40In India, the scale is staggering. Government data shows Waqf boards control 8.7 lakh properties
00:48spanning 9.4 lakh acres valued at around 1.2 lakh crore. That makes the Waqf board India's third
00:56largest landowner after the armed forces and the railways. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number
01:02of Waqf properties, 27% of the national total. Other states with significant Waqf assets include
01:10West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. And these are in obscure lands. The Jama Masjid,
01:17Bada, Imam Bara, Salim Chishti's tomb, all are Waqf properties.
01:22Even the Ambani residence Antilia is alleged to be built on Waqf land. But Waqf in India has
01:29always existed in a legal grey zone. Back in British India, the Privy Council called Waqf
01:35a perpetuity of the worst kind. But India chose a different path. The Musa Iman Waqf Validating
01:42Act of 1913 safeguarded Waqf's legal existence. Post-independence, the Waqf Act of 1954 created
01:51state boards and a central Waqf council in 1964. This was overhauled in 1995, giving statutory powers
01:59to the Waqf tribunal, detailing Mutawali duties and governing how land is managed. Still,
02:07loopholes remained, ranging from poor land records, misuse of power, encroachment to unaccounted
02:14donations. And then came the 2025 amendment bill. On April 3rd, the Waqf amendment bill 2025 was passed
02:23in Rajya Sabha with 128 votes to 95. Lok Sabha passed it earlier with 288 votes to 232 after intense
02:32debates. But just hours later, AIMIM's Asad Doudin Awaisi and Congress MP Mohammad Javed moved to the
02:41Supreme Court, calling the bill unconstitutional. However, on April 6th, the bill officially became
02:48a law after it got the assent of President Draupadi Murmu. So what's in this bill, now law, that's
02:55making headlines. It removes the Waqf by User Clause, which allowed religious land claims based on long
03:02time usage, even without documentation. It curtails arbitrary claims by scrapping Section 40, ending
03:10Waqf Board's powers to declare land as Waqf unilaterally. Earlier under Section 40, Waqf Boards could unilaterally
03:18declare any land as Waqf if they believed it was used for religious purposes, even without solid
03:25documentation. Earlier, a district collector could survey Waqf land. Now, only government officers above
03:33the collector's rank can inspect cases where the Waqf Board and the government both claim ownership.
03:40Inheritance rights for women must be secured before Waqf dedications. Special provisions are added for
03:47widows, divorcees and orphans. Mutawalis must register all property details on a central portal within six
03:56months. The mandatory contribution from Waqf institutions to boards is reduced from 7% to 5%.
04:04And most controversially, it proposes two non-Muslim members in every Waqf Board, both central and
04:11state level. Home Minister Amit Shah defended the bill.
04:32Union Minister Kiran Rijiju went a step further, claiming that
04:37that. But the opposition isn't happy. Malik Arjun Khargay called the bill a wailed land grab.
04:54Asa hi, ab Waqf board ke properties ko jama karke, iska ek land bank bana ke, kya kis bade ne
05:03businessmen ko deyte, corporate ko deyte, mujhe malum nahi.
05:07For many Muslims, Waqf properties are not just pieces of land, they are community lifelines. Mosques,
05:15madrasas, targahs, kabristans. But they're often mismanaged, encroached upon or stuck in litigation. The new bill
05:23claims to fix that. But critics argue it opens the door to greater state control, especially over
05:30undocumented or century-old shrines and graveyards. The inclusion of non-Muslim members in Waqf boards
05:37has also sparked concerns about interference in religious institutions. As the Waqf amendment
05:44becomes law, all eyes now turn to the Supreme Court. Will this be remembered as a long overdue reform,
05:51or as the state stepping onto secret ground? Stay tuned with Outlook for more such explainers.
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