It is being hoped that the Waqf Amendment Bill protest will strengthen the INDI Alliance parties’ standing with their most loyal voters, the Muslim community. This singular objective overlooks the actual merits of the Bill in making the Waqf Boards more transparent and oriented towards what were the original objectives – welfare of the community. It is no secret that these boards have been used largely to strengthen the hold of a few persons on large tracts of land and properties, without using the wealth derived from transactions to establish schools, colleges, orphanages, hospitals, etc., that the trusts associated with other minority communities usually do.
The Waqf boards go as far back as 1913 when they were constituted by the British. The first Waqf legislation was enacted in 1923 to regulate their activity. It is obvious that these were the creation of government authority and not some inherent institution of the community. The law was further modified in 1954, 1964 and 1995. These were changes and improvements brought about to keep up with the times. However, the activities of the Waqfs began to draw attention because, rather than limiting themselves to what had become traditional activities, they began to get increasingly involved in controversies and corruption, particularly land grab and real estate deals. It has become necessary for reforms to be introduced to ensure better government oversight and regulation.
As has been the case in the past when ‘minority appeasement’ politics undercut the interests of the community itself, forcing it to remain mired in the ghettos of educational, social and economic backwardness, the present ‘secular’ parties are hoping to derive political advantage from the contrived controversy. Government acceded to the demands of the opposition by setting up a parliamentary committee to vet the proposed bill and make improvements, if necessary, but that too was sought to be scuttled for political reasons.
Now, the opposition is hoping to obstruct Parliament’s functioning and, also, spark street-level protests of the anti-CAA ‘Shaheen Bagh’ variety, which in their narrative were ‘successful’. They are also taking inspiration from the protests that scuttled the three farm reform laws. Just as the majority of farmers have suffered as a result, even as some large landowners continue to benefit from institutionalised giveaways, a failure to enact the latest Waqf Bill will deprive the Muslims of numerous benefits. And the definition of secularism will continue to remain as warped as before.
