How Much Justified is Waqf Land?
When Pakistan was created on the basis of Hindu-Muslim rule in 1947, it was understood that the problem of Muslims in India would no longer be the same as it was before partition. The creation of Pakistan was wanted by the Muslim League only for Muslims and said that Hindus and Muslims are two nationalities which have nothing in common with each other. The then British government accepted this argument of Jinnah and created Pakistan by dividing Punjab and Bengal. But after becoming independent on August 15, 1947, India fully upheld the religious freedom of the 9.8 per cent Muslims left in India, which was enshrined in its constitution. The Constitution of India is completely based on humanism, in which Hindus and Muslims have equal rights. But it can be argued that if Pakistan was created on the basis of pure religion, then what is the relevance of the institutions of Muslims in independent India? If this debate is taken further, then it can be argued that what can be the justification of the Muslim Waqf Act made in India in 1913, which was amended in 1923. It was amended in 1954 and in 1984 and later in 1995 and 2013.
The British wanted to strengthen their rule by dividing Hindus and Muslims in every case and they did so. Independent India continued to impose the law made by the British on itself and in 1950, the Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as the Prime Minister of India. An agreement was reached between Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, that both countries would protect the religious rights of their minorities and set up minority commissions in this regard. India implemented this with full willingness, but in Pakistan, despite this, Hindus and Sikhs continued to be converted. Except for Sindh, Hindus and Sikhs had already been wiped out from West Pakistan. Therefore, the question arises as to whose land was the land on which Pakistan was created? Jinnah fought and grabbed this land and named it Pakistan. That is why Pakistan can be called an illegitimate country which was created on the land of Hindus of India. Therefore, the debate on the Muslim Waqf Amendment Act in the Supreme Court is being closely watched by citizens from villages to cities of India. When this law is only for Muslims, the question may arise as to which community the Waqf lands ultimately belong to.
India has been ruled by Muslim sultans and emperors for 800 years, so the people who entered our own house and ruled us became the owners of our own lands and started giving land in waqf. The Waqf Act which was made in 1923 was for the whole of united India, so when India was divided forever on the basis of religion, then what is the justification of this law? India adopted parliamentary democracy and declared it a republic. In 1947, India became a territorial state with a citizen of any religion living in any part of the country. This was only because the majority of people who believed in Hinduism in India was around 80 percent. The reason for this was that Hinduism was very liberal and tolerant in spite of caste mismanagement.
The Hindu people of India never minded that the remaining Muslims in independent India should not be given their religious freedom. Hindus wholeheartedly accepted the secular nature of the Indian Constitution, but this did not mean that the governments should go to any extent to appease the Muslims. Therefore, during the time of the Congress governments, dogmatism flourished in Muslim society in the name of religious freedom and the extent was that the entire Muslim society was deprived of good education. He was allowed to remain imprisoned within the four walls of religion. Therefore, we will also look at the controversy arising on Waqf from this point of view. Muslim clerics will have to think that India is now living in the scientific age of the 21st century. Therefore, he cannot live in the Mughal period, so there can be no justification for the laws of the British era. How can the Muslim Waqf Boards be given the right to take over the land which they lay their hands on should become Waqf and the status of the Tribunals of the Waqf Boards should be above the courts? This is nothing but sheer appeasement. The Supreme Court has postponed the challenge to the constitutional validity of the amended Waqf Act till the next hearing and ordered to maintain the status quo. In this case, the lawyers of the Government of India have assured the court that this will be implemented.
The real issue is the existence of Hindu members in the Wakf Boards. The Waqf is an administrative tribunal and what harm can there be if Hindu citizens are also involved in it. Will it not increase communal harmony further? We should keep in mind that by drawing lines between Hindus and Muslims, we promote communalism. There is no public Hindu religious event in India that does not involve the participation of Muslims. The second issue is whether there should not be documents of such lands. It is common practice in India to build a tomb on any land and call it ancestral. The same can be said of Hindu temples. So the government will have to look at the papers.