Wakf Board
There was no WAQF before 1954. Most of it was just abandoned land containing mosques that were built on top of temples.
It was in 1954 that Nehru created a WAQF board and handed over the land to them. It was 6 lakh crore acres in the beginning. Now it is 8 lakh crore. This handing over of national property to the WAQF board was firmly opposed by then-President Rajendra Prasad.
Secular India has given the WAQF great authority to claim and seize properties.
If the WAQF board “believes” any property to be WAQF, the onus is on the property holder to “show cause” that it is not WAQF property. The order made by the WAQF board will be final
In Karnataka, Waqf Board had claimed a Jain Basadi land which had an illegal mosque and took over temple land. After Hindu groups took this matter with Udupi MLA, govt denotified the land grant to Waqf Board and took it under its administration.
WAQF board has claimed ownership of Beyt Dwaraka Islands. Beyt Dwaraka is the Dwaraka of Mahabharata. Excavations carried out in the 1980s revealed an ancient civilization.
The word “WAQF” is not found in Quran. It is not found even in the Indian constitution. There is a reference only in much later Hadiths. The milords who ban Diwali crackers on the premise of their alleged absence in Hindu scriptures must be asked: Will they ban WAQF on the same premise?
The earliest archaeological reference to WAQF is only in the 10th century. No recorded proof of WAQF before that. However, this WAQF was totally different from the WAQF boards that exist today. To appreciate the difference, let us understand what WAQF meant then and what it means now. In pre-modern days, WAQF was basically an Islamic endowment that was established for religious and charitable purposes. However, there was a huge difference. Theoretically, any WAQF endowment once executed cannot be repealed. It cannot change hands. “Once a WAQF, always a WAQF”. Practically, this meant WAQF was always under the control of the State(The Muslim ruler). The Waqif (issuer) & Mutawalli (custodian) had no private rights over it. There was no such thing as a “WAQF Board”.
Today’s WAQF board (Central WAQF council) was established by Nehru in 1964. Today, the WAQF board has systematically grabbed Hindu lands to become the third largest landowner in India right after Central Government bodies like Defense and Railways. Consider the case of Chaurasi Khamba. This was a Hindu Krishna temple destroyed by Ghorids in the 12th century.
However, the invaders did a shoddy job. Their intention was only to destroy the Hindu temple and convert it into Mosque. They did not even bother defacing the columns on pillars that depict the Avataras of Vishnu even today. After the destruction, it was virtually abandoned. There was no Jummah congregation/Friday worship for hundreds of years. In the 20th century, the WAQF board out of nowhere claimed this structure on the premise that it once functioned as a mosque and prayers were held. Their request was granted by Govt and this is now a WAQF property. Thus, Governments have validated foreign Jihadi invasions by enabling the WAQF board to occupy lands solely on the basis of past conquests of Islamic invaders.
Recently, the WAQF board claimed ownership of at least 6 Hindu majority villages of Tamilnadu including a 1500-year-old temple! On what basis has the WAQF board claimed these villages? These villages were once the personal fiefs of a foreign invader named Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan. Any land that was once occupied by any Islamic invader is now being stolen by the WAQF board. Governments have empowered them to do it.
How is the WAQF board able to loot lands so blatantly? You will be surprised to know that the WAQF board in India wields unquestionable power that is only matched by the judiciary. They have the power to stake a claim on your property & throw you out of your own house should they decide it.
Take the case of these 5000 families in Boduppal (Hyderabad). A few years ago, they were the registered owners of highly-priced lands in Hyderabad. Today, they are desperately protesting on roads because they have been stripped of ownership of their own lands by the WAQF board.
These families were registered owners of their land. Do they have government pattas indicating they are actually owners of the land? How did they lose it? The answer is that these residents were unaware, uninformed, and careless like most of us. Read on to see how it cost them. The residents brought their land from a real estate broker who in turn brought it 50-70 years ago from a Muslim man. In 1989, the WAQF board claimed these lands on the premise that they once belonged to a Muslim holy person. What did the residents do then? Absolutely nothing! The WAQF claim of these 294 acres was approved by the Government. Recently, the WAQF board threw a few residents out of their own properties. This was when they woke up and approached the court. “What were you doing in these 30 years?” asked Court.
“Once a WAQF, always a WAQF” is the mantra of the WAQF board. And this is the most dangerous aspect of it. Practically, this means your land can be robbed of you if the WAQF board has reasons to believe that it belonged to some Muslim persona/saint at any time in the past. Notice the word “BELIEVE”. According to the WAQF act 1995, Belief is all the WAQF board needs. It just has to believe your land belonged to a Muslim. The onus will be upon you to provide proof. And where will you provide proof? You cannot go to court. You have to go to the WAQF tribunal. Such is a travesty of this law that you have to plead your case before the very board that set its rapacious eyes on your land in the first place. The most draconian aspect of this law is that the decision of the WAQF board (which comprises only Muslims) will be final and binding.
“The decision of WAQF tribunal shall be final” has been taken to mean even Supreme Court cannot challenge the decision of the WAQF board. Yet, the WAQF decision was recently reversed by Supreme Court in two cases (see below). But these are very powerful opponents. What about the common man? “Once a WAQF, always a WAQF” reads the motto of the WAQF Board on their website. However, this is only a theory. Practically, the WAQF land has often been sold by corrupt WAQF beneficiaries.
This means the land you purchased from any Muslim could be WAQF land for all you know. This is precisely what happened to India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. Ambani’s home Antilia is one of the world’s largest and most elaborate private homes, at 27 stories, 173 meters (568 ft) tall, and over 37,000 square meters. Today the WAQF board is staking a claim on his house. On what basis is the WAQF board claiming Ambani’s house? The WAQF board claims the land Ambani purchased in 2005 belonged to a Muslim orphanage. It claims this sale is illegal. Who sold this land? WAQF Muslim beneficiaries! What happened to “once..always”?
Who framed WAQF act 1995? Congress under PV Narasimha Rao. For decades, Secular Govts have passed various laws empowering the WAQF board to the extent that even the richest man in India is not secure from their paws. Such laws don’t exist even in officially Islamic nations.
Indian School of Business is the most prestigious and highest ranked Business school in India. The WAQF board did not spare even this institution. The WAQF board also petitioned that Microsoft and Wipro campuses in Hyderabad were built on Muslim WAQF land. Microsoft/ISB/Wipro campuses were leased on State Government lands. But the WAQF board claimed this 1654 acre land including all Manikonda is WAQF. How? WAQF claimed it once belonged to a Muslim named Husain Shah Wali. To make matters worse, the High Court ruled in favor of WAQF. A panicked Telangana State Government knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court for help. Fortunately, the Supreme Court ruled in the favor of the state. This was an extremely rare case of the Supreme court overturning the WAQF decision.
The State Government had enough power and resources to approach SC and use influence. But what about the common man? The same TS state government is empowering the WAQF board. In fact, KCR promised to give judicial powers to WAQF.
Originally, WAQF had around 52,000 properties throughout India. By 2009, there were 300,000 registered WAQF properties making up 4 lakh acres. As of 2022, there are 8,65,646 registered WAQF properties spread over 8 lakh acres of land. WAQF land has doubled in just 13 years! Does land expand? Does land grow? How did the WAQF lands double? The answer is that the WAQF board has been rapaciously staking claims to Private Hindu and Public State properties and various revenue departments and Secular State governments have been approving the WAQF claims.
Today, the value of WAQF properties in India is estimated at 12 Lakh crores. This makes the WAQF board the richest Non Governmental land holding body in India. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. They have only started flexing.
According to the WAQF board, 77% of Delhi belongs to WAQF. This includes:
- CGO Complex
- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
- Delhi High Court
- Delhi Public School
This means that the WAQF board is planning more land grabbing and your property could be next.
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