Do you know the meaning of 'Waqf'? If the new Waqf Bill becomes law, who will benefit?
Waqf Board: After the approval of the JPC, the Wakf Bill will be presented in the Lok Sabha in a new form today. What does Wakf mean and who will benefit after this bill becomes a law, know in detail.
Ankush Pandey
Waqf Bill will be presented in a new form in the Lok Sabha today, i.e., on Wednesday (2 April 2025). If this bill is passed by the Parliament, it will become law. After the new bill becomes law, the state governments will now have more powers than before in resolving the dispute over Waqf property.
Although the proposed law will not affect old mosques, dargahs or religious institutions of Muslims, the changes made in the bill may increase the number of non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board. Apart from the ex-officio members of the Waqf Board, now the appointment of two non-Muslim members to the board will also be mandatory.
What is in the new Waqf Bill?
The present government has accepted the demand of its allies and made many changes in the new bill, such as only those who have been following Islam for five years can donate their property to Waqf. If there is any dispute related to the property to be donated, the final decision will be taken only after investigation.
Along with this, the amendment in section 11 of the old law has also been accepted, which states that the ex-officio member of the Waqf Board, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, will not be included in the count of non-Muslim members. This means that the number of non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board can increase.
What does waqf mean?
First of all, let us know what a waqf is. Actually, 'Waqf' is derived from the Arabic word 'Wakufa,' which means to stop or to stop. If we try to understand in legal terms, Waqf means, 'In Islam, when a person donates his property for religious reasons or in the name of God, then it is called Waqf, that is, to stop the property.' Whether it is some money, property, precious metal, houseor land. This donated property is called 'Allah's property,' and the person who gives his property to Waqf is called 'Waqifa.'
These properties donated or waqfed by waqifa cannot be sold, it cannot be used for any purpose other than religion. It is said that during the time of Muslim religious leader Prophet Muhammad, a garden of 600 date trees was first waqfed and the income from it was used to help the poor of Medina.
When was the Waqf Act made in India
Now we know when the tradition of Waqf started in India, so let us tell you that its history is linked to the time of the Delhi Sultanate in the 12th century and after independence in India, the Waqf Act was made for the first time in 1954 and then in the year 1995, some amendments were made to this act. Then a new Waqf Act was made and many changes were also made in it in the year 2013.
After the year 2013, on 8 August 2024, a new Waqf Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by amending the Waqf Act, against which there were protests across the country. After the protest, a draft of the bill was prepared and it was sent to the JPC of Parliament, which was discussed and on 27 January 2025, the JPC approved the draft of the bill and accepted the 14 amendments suggested.
After this, the JPC report was presented in Parliament on 13 February 2025. The amended Waqf bill was approved in the cabinet meeting on 19 February 2025 and now today i.e. on February 2, this bill will be presented in the Parliament, on which there will be an 8-hour debate and then voting will take place on it.
Why was the Waqf Act amended?
From 2022 till now, about 120 petitions related to the Waqf Act were filed in different high courts of the country, in which many flaws in the existing Waqf law were pointed out. About 15 of these petitions are from Muslims, in which the biggest argument was that according to Section 40 of the Act, Waqf can declare any property as its property.
Any complaint against this can also be made only in the Waqf Board Tribunal and the final decision on this is of the Tribunal. It is not easy for common people to challenge the decision of a powerful institution like the Waqf in court.
Five major demands in the petitions
- There should be a law for charitable trusts and trustees of all minorities in India like Muslims, Jains, and Sikhs.
- There should be no tribunal on religious grounds. Decisions on Waqf properties should be made by civil law, not by the Waqf Tribunal.
- Waqf board members who sell Waqf land illegally should be punished.
- The government does not earn anything from mosques, while the government pays salaries to Waqf officials. Therefore, control should be brought on the financial matters of Waqf.
- Different sections of Muslim society, i.e. Shia, Bohra Muslim, and Muslim women, should also be included.
The central government said this
The central government says that changes are being made in the Act on the basis of the recommendations of the Justice Sachar Committee report of 2006. While introducing the bill in the Lok Sabha on August 8, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju said, 'The purpose of this bill is not to interfere in the functioning of religious institutions. The bill has been brought to give Muslim women and backward Muslims a share in the Waqf Board. It has a provision to settle disputes of Waqf properties within 6 months. This will solve issues like corruption in Waqf.'
Voting in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, what is the number game
To pass the Waqf Bill in Parliament, the government needs a majority through voting in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. To pass this bill, the government needs the support of 272 out of 543 MPs of Lok Sabha and 123 out of 245 MPs of Rajya Sabha. Let us tell you that BJP has 240 MPs in Lok Sabha, but the government will also need its allies - 16 MPs of TDP, 12 of JDU, 7 of Shiv Sena (Shinde) and 5 MPs of LJP (Ram Vilas). Smaller allies of NDA like RLD have 2, JDS has 2 and Apna Dal (Sonelal) has 1 MP.
Talking about the number of Rajya Sabha, 9 seats are vacant in Rajya Sabha right now, so the support of 119 MPs out of the current 236 is necessary. BJP has 96 MPs. On the other hand, NDA's allies have 19 MPs. In such a situation, the government will need the support of 6 nominated MPs.
