“How will minorities not accept this law? It is the law of parliament; everyone should accept it,” Amit Shah’s voice was heard in the early morning of the April 2nd in the lower house in the lower house, accompanied by the rattling of the allies and the opposition.
Outside, around 1,500 km away, in Bengalen, fear and fear among people about the loss of hectares property, which had been their source of refuge and livelihood for years, began in another apparently ‘neutral’ legal act, which ultimately broke out into violent protests, which ultimately broke out the pit of distrust and the municipal hate, hater, deeper and deeper.
The context of the WAQF law
The WAQF (change) draft law of 2024 was introduced on August 8, 2024 by the Union Minister for Minorities and BJP member Kiren Rijiju in Lok Sabha (parliament of the India) in Lok Sabha. While the law proposed several changes, the provision, the government, in particular district administrators, was greater control over the management of WAQF real estate (property -either movable or immovable -that Muslims permanently donated to religious or non -profit purposes).
After the original WAQF Act, the WAQF tribunals held the final authority in matters in connection with WAQF ownership. However, the adoption of this law revokes the final of the decisions of this tribunal, opens the door for an appointment and another legal examination. In addition, the law proposes the inclusion of non-Muslims to the board of directors that manage WAQF foundations and thus expand the role of the government in the validation of land stocks.
The draft law was transferred to a joint parliamentary committee for a detailed examination and then passed by a considerable majority in both parliamentary homes. The committee argued that the legislation would improve transparency and accountability in the treatment of WAQF properties and contribute to the fact that disputes rationalize disputes.
Reactions and protests
It is not surprising that the adoption of the WAQF law (change) of 2024 was exposed to considerable resistance to Muslim communities across India. The draft law was criticized for supposedly violating the property rights and religious freedoms of Muslims. In addition, the decision to enable collectors of the district has to make final decisions about controversial WAQF real estate, concerns about the erosion of Muslim control over their assets.
Source: DH
At the beginning of November 2024, the concerns began when Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, the general secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), contradicted the draft law that over 3.66 Crore Muslim e -mails had submitted in which they pronounced their opposition. He argued that the changes would undermine the authority and autonomy of the WAQF board. In March 2025, the AIMPLB announced a nationwide agitation against the legislative template that organized large sit-ins before state meetings in cities such as Patna and Vijayawada.
Several petitions that question the constitutionality of the law were also submitted in front of the Supreme Court, whereby the hearings for April 16, 2025 were planned.
However, the protests escalated in April 2025, especially in April 2025, in April 2025 Murshidabad District, West Bengalenwho saw some of the most intense unrest. Mass protests spread in cities such as Kolkata, Chennai and Telangana. The most serious unrest occurred in Murshidabad, where the protests that began on April 8 quickly escalated violence and culminated in the tragedy on April 12.
What is left is a deeply divided society that blurred in common hatred. The WAQF change law follows a similar pattern. His language itself indicates the inability of the Muslim community to regulate its property and thus the penetration of non-Muslims (not administrative officials, mind you, but people who do not belong to the Muslim community) are necessary for their regulation
In Dhulian, Shamsherganj, two members Hargobind was chopped to death by the same family and his son Chandan, while Izaz Ahmed Sheikh, a 17-year-old youth, was injured by the police in Suti.
In response to this, the authorities quickly imposed Section 144 to restrict the meetings, to suspend internet services and to set central armed forces as well as from the Supreme Court of Kalkutta, whereby the freedom of the citizens was significantly restricted.
An act of reform or disempowerment
A fleeting look at the provisions of the law and the reasons for the center, in particular by the Minister for Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who describes the law as a “pro-Muslim”, suggests that it is exhausting the regulation and reform of the WAQF board to increase the accountability and “prevent abuse of property”.
It is not a new revelation that a number of laws from the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) have been tests to promote politics and the joint hatred between communities.
However, it is important to recognize that this legislation, like all other laws, should not be viewed in isolation. Instead, the analysis of the law becomes a broader framework that includes the current sociopolitical paradigm of India, which is strongly influenced by the ideologies and politics of the governing party.
Therefore, it must be analyzed in the greater context of the persecution of Muslim communities in India Revocation of Article 370 In Jammu and Kashmir for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, attempts to promote split policy and the joint hatred between communities.
In the past, laws such as the legislation of the CAA and the cow protection laws, especially during the election season, have become more important to secure majority of majority. Every time a law aims at the practices of a certain religion, critics indicate their polarizing nature and the tendency to make the communities aware of their religious differences.
Cross -border communities often resist, which can quickly become violent due to the sensitive nature of the problem, which leads to an “official” retaliation by the authorities. The resulting riots are often justified for the control or regulation of freedoms and rights of minorities, which creates hatred in regions in which such tensions were not previously existed.
What is left is a deeply divided society that blurred in common hatred. The WAQF change law follows a similar pattern. His language itself proposes the inability of the Muslim community to regulate its property and thus the penetration of non-Muslims (not administrative officials, mind you, but people who do not belong to the Muslim community) are necessary for their regulation. No such laws were introduced for bodies or trusts of other religions.
In addition, the consequence of violence has strongly biased the authorities against the Muslim demonstrators. The introduction of section 144 in the districts of the Muslim majority underlines the tendency of the authorities, to punishable measures and not due to reformative measures-a approach that has motivated most of such laws in India.
Waqf and women
So far, the only redeeming property of the law seems to be his advance on the admission of women. The law stipulates that two Muslim women have to be admitted both as members of the Central Waqf Council and in the State Waqf board. A profound insight into the historical treatment of Muslim women by the Indian government, however, underlines the tokenistic role that they receive in the system.
Source: Express photo
Laws such as the Triple Talaq Law and the Hijaab ban in Karnataka have been criticized for the fact that the rights of Muslim women are instrumentalized as tools for further hatred instead of strengthening them. For example, the Triple TalaQ law focuses on the punishment for Muslim men without carrying out equivalent support mechanisms for women such as accommodation, legal aid or maintenance.
Similarly, the WAQF board law comprises Muslim women without the scope of their power, their decision-making authority or the question of whether they are chosen or nominated. In addition, there was no advice with Muslim women.
WAQF removed by use
Many WAQF properties are located in urban areas and serve as residences or places of worship for economically disadvantaged Muslims. In these communities, official documentation on the property of these properties is often missing.
The removal of the WAQF by means of use, which made it possible for these communities to use property without documentation, puts it up to its residences and living documents and continues to push them into poverty.
The formation of laws and laws is rarely a neutral act of benevolence for the public. Rather, they are projections of the vision of the dominant group of ideal society. The WAQF change law is a further addition to the long list of laws that serve the vision of the government of a “Hindutva”, the state. The opposition and protest communities that express their concerns are simply suppressed and referred to as criminal rebels and are pushed to the edges. The WAQF law should therefore be regarded as another catalyst for creating a non-inclusive India.
References:
- https://pib.gov.in/pressreleaspage.aspx?prid=2118799
- https://pib.gov.in/pressreleaspage.aspx?prid=2118415
- https://www.aljazera.com/news/2025/4/3/indian-parliasing-lower-house-passes-controversial-muslim-schennment-bill
- https://www.thehindu.com/News/waqf-amendment-bill-analysis-allplains-fom-hindu/article69402487.ece
- https://www.reuters.com/world/india/new-indian-bill-propose-revamp-mand-management-faces-backlash-2025-04-02/
Sohalika Shrivastava is a student in the 3rd year at Iit Madras Out and shortly before it is to carve a niche. In her free time she likes to read about animal facts and likes to learn