SRINAGAR: PDP Leader Waheed Para on Thursday said that the amendments being introduced to the Waqf Act are intended to dilute its powers and strip it of control over its priorities.
He described this as a systematic assault on Muslim institutions, aimed at dismantling those that have safeguarded the community’s heritage for decades.
“The amendments being bought into the Waqf Act are designed solely to dilute its powers & stripping it off the control over its priorities. The systematic assault at Muslim institutions is aimed to dismantle the very institutions that have safeguarded our heritage for decades,” Waheed said in a post on X.
The amendments being bought into the Waqf Act are designed solely to dilute its powers & stripping it off the control over its priorities. The systematic assault at Muslim institutions is aimed to dismantle the very institutions that have safeguarded our heritage for decades.
— Waheed Para (@parawahid) August 8, 2024
A bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes significant changes to the current Act, including ensuring representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in these bodies. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, set for introduction in the Lok Sabha, also aims to rename the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.
The bill was circulated among Lok Sabha members on Tuesday night ahead of its introduction. According to its statement of objects and reasons, the bill seeks to omit Section 40 of the current law, which relates to the powers of the board to decide if a property is Waqf property. It provides for a broad-based composition of the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards, ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims.
The bill also proposes the establishment of a separate Board of Auqaf for the Boharas and Aghakhanis. The draft law includes representation for Shias, Sunnis, Bohras, Agakhanis, and other backward classes among Muslim communities. It aims to clearly define ‘Waqf’ as Waqf by any person practising Islam for at least five years and owning such property.
One objective is to streamline the registration of Waqfs through a central portal and database. A detailed procedure is established for mutation according to revenue laws, with due notice to all concerned before recording any property as Waqf property.
The Waqf Act, 1995, was introduced to regulate ‘Auqaf’ (assets donated and notified as Waqf) by a ‘wakif’ (the person who dedicates property for any purpose recognised by Muslim law as religious or charitable). The Act was last amended in 2013. (With inputs from PTI)
