3 Muslim Organisations Support Waqf Amendment Bill At Parliament Panel Meet

New Delhi: Amid heated exchanges between the NDA and opposition members, three Muslim organisations, including an RSS affiliate, on Friday supported the proposed amendments to the Waqf law before a parliamentary panel, sources said.

When the three Muslim organisations – All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council, RSS-affiliated Rashtriya Muslim Manch and NGO Bharat First – made their presentations separately before the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, some opposition members sought to find flaws in their claims.

Shiv Sena member in the Committee Naresh Mhaske is learnt to have told opposition members that they should be open to listening to the point of view of the other side, a suggestion that led to a brief exchange of words between the NDA and opposition.

Some opposition members also wondered whether the Sufi Shah Malang sect comprising fakirs, who appeared before the Committee, formed part of the Muslim community.

The Committee is scheduled to travel to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore between September 26 and October 1 to meet various stakeholders in the respective cities.

Over the successive meetings of the Committee, the opposition members appeared to have laid down certain red lines, making it clear that issues such as deletion of waqf by user provision of the law, making the district collector as the arbiter to decide whether a property is of waqf or government, abolition of waqf tribunals and inclusion of non-Muslims in waqf councils will not be acceptable to them.

The All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council (AISSC), helmed by the patron of the Ajmersharif Dargah, demanded establishment of a separate dargah board similar to those suggested for the Aghakhani and Bohra waqfs under the Bill.

The AISSC said the establishment of a dargah board was crucial for protecting the properties of dargahs, masjids, khanqahs, imambadas and qabrastans, and safeguarding the rights of Sajjadanashins and Muttawallis.

The AISSC also sought clarification from the Committee over reports that properties of masjids, dargahs, khanqahs, imambadas and qabrastans will be confiscated under Section 3C of the Bill.

Committee chairman Jagdambika Pal assured the AISSC representatives that there were no such provisions in the Bill.

The Muslim Rashtriya Manch representatives also comprised three fakirs who demanded that a separate waqf board be formed for the Sufishah Malang community that largely comprises fakirs, which is an Indian sect of Islam and does not trace its origins to a foreign land.

They claimed that over 3.75 lakh dargahs/ khanqahs/ mazhars of the Sufishah Malang sect were spread across the country that needed to be protected.

The Bharat First NGO termed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as a landmark piece of legislation, which was poised to revolutionise the management of registered waqf properties across the country.

It said despite controlling extensive land and financial resources, the waqf boards have failed to translate these into meaningful socio-economic benefits for the Muslim community.

The NGO said poor record-keeping, encroachments and a lack of oversight have hindered the effective management of waqf properties.