In the name of Waqf: a snapshot of situation in Telangana

A wave of Opposition gathered momentum as the Joint Parliamentary Committee met stakeholders in Hyderabad to discuss the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Politicians, Muslim faith leaders, and a host of organisations have rallied tens of thousands of concerned citizens, flooding the committee with e-mails voicing apprehension. When the committee convened a session on September 28, there was a heated debate among members, while tensions simmered outside the meeting hall with occasional sloganeering.

But first, a snapshot of the State of waqf in Telangana: troubling. According to the first Waqf Survey, which was completed in 1989, there were as many as 33,929 properties, encompassing a total of 77,538 acres classified as waqf land. However, according to the Telangana State Waqf Board (TGSWB)’s data, nearly 75% — or 57,420 acres — have been encroached upon. A clear and formal account of the newer waqf properties and the extent of waqf lands is still awaited.

Officials say that both the State and the TGSWB are yet to reach an agreement on the data from the second Waqf Survey, which started in 2001 and concluded in late 2016.

“The Survey Commissioner, a government officer, submits a (survey) report to the State government, which then forwards it to the TGSWB for verification. The board reviews the data, adds comments, and sends it back to the government, which makes minor adjustments before finalising the report. The second survey identified around 13,000 more waqf properties, though they are much smaller in size,” explains an official, requesting anonymity.

“While the second survey in Telangana was completed in 2016, it is still pending verification,” adds the official.

According to the Waqf Assets Management System of India, Hyderabad district has 3,714 immovable waqf properties, while Adilabad has 3,079, Karimnagar 2,710, Khammam 1,405, Mahbubnagar 6,315, Medak 8,429, Nalgonda 4,235, Nizamabad 5,727, Rangareddy 7,235, and Warangal 2,833. These properties range from agricultural land, ashoorkhanas, and buildings to dargahs, graveyards, houses, eidgahs, and masjids.

Futile efforts

Despite several plans by successive governments and the State Waqf Board to increase revenue from these properties, efforts in many cases have proved futile. In united Andhra Pradesh, the Minorities Welfare Department had paved the way for developing nearly a dozen properties to generate income for the board, but those plans did not materialise, say senior officials.

Similarly, in 2012, the State waqf board in united Andhra Pradesh had announced plans to lease the seven-storey ‘Garden View Mall’ located in Razzack Manzil, Hyderabad, to raise funds. However, as of 2024, the structure remains unfinished, with only slabs and a basement filled with stagnant water.

The issue of tardiness on the part of TGSWB has been raised in the Telangana Legislative Assembly on a couple of occasions. In 2020, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Akbaruddin Owaisi called for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe or a judicial investigation by a sitting judge of the High Court into alleged corruption within the Board. He also highlighted the high salaries paid to staff members.

Recent data obtained through the Right to Information Act in September this year revealed that typists and junior assistants earn over Rs. 69,000 per month, drivers receive more than Rs. 65,000, and office subordinates are paid between Rs. 46,000 and Rs. 55,000.

Split among Sufi leaders

Ahead of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting, a split within the Sufi community was laid bare. Among the Muslim faith leaders who met with the JPC was the recently-formed Kul Hind Anjuman-e-Sufi Sajjadagan (KHASS), a group of sajjada nashins or hereditary custodians of Sufi shrines that broke away from the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council (AISSC). Unlike the AISSC, which supported the Union government’s introduction of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, KHASS members took an opposing stance.

Among the prominent dissenters is Fareed Nizami of Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin in New Delhi, who, at a late-night interaction with mediapersons from Hyderabad, claimed that the first signs of resistance to the Bill came from that Sufi shrine. Some members of this splinter group had been active speakers/ attendees at the 2015 World Sufi Forum, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

That event had led the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) to accuse Modi of trying to divide the Muslim community by ignoring certain interpretations of Islam.

The arrival of KHASS members in Hyderabad came shortly after Hyderabd MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s sharp criticism of faith leaders supporting the Bill. Owaisi referred to them as “jokers who wear rang-birangey (colourful) clothes”, an indirect reference to their religious attire.

“We are here to dispel the notion that all those in charge of dargahs support the Bill,” Syed Ghulam Afzal Biyabani, Sajjada Nashin of the Kazipet Dargah in Hanamkonda district, and chairman of the Telangana State Haj Committee, had said during the media interaction. His statement underscored the growing divide between Sufi leaders on the issue.

Syed Yadullah Hussaini, from Rouza-e-Khurd in Gulbarga (Karnataka) and former Naib (deputy) Mutawalli of the Dargah Yusufain in Nampally, explains why KHASS diverged from the AISSC. “We felt the AISSC supported the Bill without weighing its pros and cons. This issue required deeper discussion. The formation of KHASS was necessary to represent the concerns of the Sufi fraternity before the government and also to defend it when needed. It was important to clarify that not all Sufis support the Bill; there was a wrong impression being created about Sufis,” says Hussaini.

At the heart of the disagreement between the AISSC and KHASS are the omission of waqf by user and clauses 3B and 3C of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. These clauses require waqf institutions to refile their details within six months of the Act’s commencement, and stipulate that any government property identified as waqf before the Act’s passage will no longer be considered waqf. A KHASS member voices concerns over the impact on historic institutions and archaeological sites with a Muslim character.

“Take dargahs or mosques of antiquity under the custody of State or Central archaeological agencies — how will you obtain the old waqf documents to prove their status? What will become of such institutions,” he asks.

Despite sharing concerns with the AIMPLB regarding the Bill, KHASS has been non-committal on whether they will join any protests, including a jail bharo movement, which the AIMPLB has hinted at. KHASS has also not ruled out supporting the creation of a separate Dargah Board.

On September 25, members of opposition parties on the JPC rallied under the banner of the All India Majis-e-Tameer-e-Millat, a Hyderabad-based socio-religious organisation, to critique the Bill. Parliamentarians such as Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh, Congress’ Syed Nasir Hussain, and Samajwadi Party’s Maulana Mohibullah Nadwi minced no words in criticising the Bill, arguing that the Centre’s focus on waqf properties could set a precedent for seizing lands linked to temples, gurdwaras, and churches.

However, even as dissent against the Bill was mounting, there were also voices in its support at the JPC meeting, and in the corridors outside the meeting hall. Among those who interacted with the JPC were members of a group representing the Pasmanda Muslim community, who made a case for the Bill.

Public outcry and political criticism

The Opposition to the Bill appeared to extend beyond the political and religious elite. Ordinary Muslims, encouraged by anti-Bill discussions in mosques and on social media, began to rally around the AIMPLB’s call for action. QR codes, which triggered sending a pre-drafted e-mail to the JPC opposing the Bill, were widely circulated by various Muslim groups and individuals.

“I encouraged my family to send e-mails to the JPC. As we understand it, the matter of mosques and dargahs is a case of worship and the Bill is problematic,” says Syeda Parveen (name changed), a resident of Masab Tank, Hyderabad.

However, some point out their e-mails were either “delayed” or failed to reach the intended address. Despite these challenges, S.Q.R. Ilyas, spokesperson for the AIMPLB, confirms that as many as 3.66 crore e-mails were sent by those who utilised the QR code designed by the Board. Explaining the Board’s opposition, he says, “The three main objections to the Bill are the omission of waqf by user, the removal of exemption of the law of limitation on waqf land, and involvement of the collector to deal with disputes instead of the Waqf Tribunals.”

Ilyas adds that State waqf boards (SWBs) were not functioning properly: “The Bill neither brings about transparency nor empowers the SWBs.”

Waqf protection activists in Telangana have criticised successive governments for failing to empower the State waqf board, particularly in addressing encroachments. A long-standing demand has been to equip the SWB with judicial powers, allowing it to deal with encroachments directly, rather than going through the Waqf Tribunal and then the executive magistrate.

K. Chandrasekhar Rao, president of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (formerly Telangana Rashtra Samithi), had promised judicial powers to the TGSWB, but the promise remained unfulfilled during his tenure as chief minister from 2014 to 2023.

The stagnation of these projects reflects a broader systemic failure, underscoring the need for better governance and more accountability in the management waqf properties.