In India, “Waqf” refers to an Islamic property endowment for religious or charitable purposes. Once designated as Waqf, these properties become inalienable and are managed by special government-backed bodies known as Waqf Boards. India has over 800,000 such properties—making the Waqf Board one of the largest landholders in the country.
While initially a religious practice, Waqf in India has become a parallel legal and administrative system exclusive to one religious community. This contrasts sharply with how Hindu and Christian religious properties are governed.
Hindu temples, in contrast to Waqf properties, are directly controlled by state governments in many areas of India. Their finances, rituals, staffing, and land use are subject to bureaucratic control, often lacking representation from the devotee community.
Christian and Sikh institutions, while generally self-managed, do not possess the legal immunity that Waqf Boards hold. Waqf Boards operate with considerable autonomy and minimal oversight, leading to a disparity in religious governance.
Passed by the Lok Sabha (lower house) of India’s Parliament on April 2, 2025, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeks to reform the opaque and often arbitrary Waqf property system. The bill proposes:
- Eliminating the colonial-era concept of “Waqf by user,” which allowed land to be declared Waqf solely based on long-term usage without documentation.
- Protecting rights of Muslim women, especially widows, divorced women, and orphans
- Allowing non-Muslim members to be part of Waqf Boards to improve accountability.
- Subjecting Waqf properties to standard land governance rules to protect other citizens’ property rights.
These reforms aim to bring transparency, reduce communal friction over land, and ensure equality before the law.
Many Hindu and secular activists view the Waqf law as a colonial vestige that institutionalized religious favoritism. While Hindu temples are regulated and even taxed by the state, Waqf Boards were granted unchecked privileges. This bill represents a long-overdue effort to correct these legal asymmetries.
American Hindus and global human rights observers who support uniform civil laws see the bill as a step toward genuine secularism and equal treatment for all communities under Indian law.
Yes. There have been numerous cases where Waqf Boards claimed land that was neither historically Islamic nor legally designated as Waqf:
- In Tamil Nadu, the Waqf Board laid claim to an entire village, including the 1,500-year-old Sundareswarar Temple.
- In Karnataka, Waqf Boards claimed land ownership with Hindu temples, Christian churches, schools, and homes.
- In Delhi, claims extended even to land surrounding a railway station.
These examples highlight why the amendment was necessary to prevent abuse and protect the property rights of non-Muslim citizens.
Organizations such as the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) have criticized the bill as being anti-Muslim. However, these criticisms often reflect a misunderstanding of India’s plural legal system. The bill does not target Muslims or mosques; instead, it aims to place all religious endowments under a uniform legal framework.
USCIRF’s silence on the state control of Hindu temples exposes a selective bias. Genuine religious freedom must be rooted in equal law, not legal exceptionalism for one community.
It is important to note that no statutory body like Waqf exists in the U.S., and envisioning such a construct under the U.S. Constitution is impossible, rendering USCIRF’s position on this issue hypocritical at best.
No. The bill does not interfere with the practice of Islam or the operation of mosques. It solely eliminates the special legal privileges that Waqf Boards previously held in land management. Muslim religious institutions will continue to operate within the same legal framework that applies to all other citizens and communities.
In fact, the bill enhances religious freedom by ensuring that no religion is treated with favoritism or legal immunity.
