Trial by Perception

To avoid an existential crisis, the BJP has multiplied temple-mosque disputes to give itself continued reason to exist

- Saiyyad Mohammad Nizamuddin Pasha

THE biggest challenge presently faced by waqfs in India is that they have lost the battle of perception even before the legal battle commences. A general public perception has been created that waqf is a unique and flawed concept and requires legal overhaul. It is from this lens that the entire dispute is seen, and even those who are able to see the communal agenda behind the Waqf Amendment Act end up conceding that some change to the law was required.

In Islam, it is said that your account book of good deeds and sin closes when you die, and will now be examined only on the day of judgement. The only exceptions to this—two things which continue to bring you reward even after your death—are children well brought up according to religion, and waqfs. Since children have never been easy to raise or to control, dedicating properties by way of waqf has been quite popular amongst Muslims. However, this is not out of the ordinary in the Indian context. Dedicating property to temples and mutts has been popular among Hindus and Jains as well. Much has been made over the course of this debate of the fact that 8.7 lakh properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres across the country are controlled by Waqf Boards. Just to put things into perspective, 4.67 lakh acres of land belonging to temples and mutts is under the control of the Commissioner of Hindu Endowments in Andhra Pradesh, 4.78 lakh acres in Tamil Nadu and 91,827 acres in Telangana. Thus, land belonging to temples and mutts in just three states exceeds this 9.4 lakh acres figure by almost 1 lakh acre. In a country where we are obsessed with religion as a people, there is nothing unusual about these figures. Even the Catholic Church owns 2-3 lakh acres of property in India despite the relatively small size of the Christian community here.