India’s parliament has passed a contentious bill to reform the management of Waqf boards, powerful Muslim land-owning organizations that control properties gifted through charitable endowments.
The legislation, passed by the lower house after an extended debate that continued into early Thursday morning, is expected to be approved by the upper house later today. The bill significantly expands government oversight of these organizations by increasing civil servant powers in supervising Waqf boards.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has framed the reforms as necessary measures to increase transparency and accountability. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who introduced the bill on Wednesday, claimed it would address corruption and mismanagement while reducing the influence of “entrenched groups.”
Interior Minister Amit Shah, a close ally of Modi, defended the changes, stating they would help “catch the people who lease out properties” for personal gain. “That money, which could be used to aid the development of minorities, is being stolen,” Shah asserted.
The Waqf boards collectively control approximately 900,000 acres (365,000 hectares) of land across India, making them among the country’s largest landholders alongside the railways and defense forces. The new legislation will also allow non-Muslims to serve on these boards, though Shah insisted their role would be limited to “administrative matters.”
Opposition parties have strongly criticized the bill, characterizing it as an attack on India’s Muslim minority population of 200 million. Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi called it a “weapon aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights,” warning that it “sets a precedent to target other communities in the future.”
Critics view the legislation as part of a broader pattern of policies by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) designed to appeal to its right-wing Hindu base. The BJP has previously supported claims regarding mosques allegedly built over ancient Hindu temples and championed the construction of a Hindu temple at the site of a demolished Mughal-era mosque in Ayodhya.Retry
