Waqf Amendment Act Sparks Nationwide Protests, Legal Challenges, And Political Fallout Across India

The Waqf Amendment Act, which purportedly seeks to 바카라�modernise바카라� and 바카라�streamline바카라� the administration of waqf properties바카라�Muslim religious endowments바카라�through state oversight and provisions for non-Muslim members on waqf boards, has been vociferously opposed by Muslim rights groups who warn that the law will undermine religious autonomy and could lead to state encroachment on religious properties.

Upon the passing of the Bill in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, thousands protested the law from large gatherings outside mosques to wearing black armbands after Friday prayers in Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhopal, and Ahmedabad. In districts such as Muzaffarnagar and Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, police hit protestors with legal notices and preventive arrests. Protesters from Sitapur have been told to furnish bonds of up to Rs 1 lakh each, and warned against 바카라�disturbing public order.바카라� 

바카라�The government is using police powers to silence peaceful dissent,바카라� a lawyer representing several protestors in Sitapur told the media. 바카라�Wearing black is not a crime,바카라� he added.

In other states, there has been a huge political fallout from the law. In a significant blow to Bihar바카라�s ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), five Muslim leaders from the Janata Dal (United) resigned protesting their party's support for the Bill. This included Nadeem Akhtar, Raju Nayyar, and Mohammed Shahnawaz Malik, who called the law 바카라�unconstitutional바카라� and said their party had betrayed its secular values.

바카라�The bill is a direct attack on Muslim identity and religious institutions,바카라� Akhtar said in a public statement. 바카라�We cannot be silent spectators.바카라�

With Bihar elections approaching, the resignations have created ripples in the state's political landscape. Opposition parties including the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress are also challenging the ruling alliance secular credentials, while the JD(U) is caught between its alliance with the BJP-led Centre and retaining its Muslim voter base. 

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) also announced a legal and civic resistance campaign titled Waqf Bachao, Dastur Bachao (Save Waqf, Save the Constitution). The group filed a petition in the Supreme Court stating that the law violates the rights to equality before law and the right to freedom of religion enshrined in Articles 14, 25, and 26 of the Constitution. 

바카라�We are using all democratic and legal tools at our disposal,바카라� AIMPLB president Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani has said. 바카라�This law is part of a wider campaign to dilute Muslim identity in India.바카라�

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, along with several Congress and Samajwadi Party MPs, has echoed similar concerns and supported legal challenges to the law. 바카라�The government바카라�s intentions are clear바카라�they want to gain control over waqf land to appease their vote base,바카라� Owaisi said during a protest in Hyderabad.

Community leaders and human rights advocates have said that the bill could embolden fringe elements. 바카라�When the state starts treating a community바카라�s religious assets as open for control, it sends a dangerous message,바카라� said Delhi-based political analyst Nazia Erum.

Internationally, the human rights groups and Muslim-majority countries have criticised the law, and even student groups in Bangladesh organised solidarity protests and human chains outside the Indian embassies. Rights watchdog Human Rights Watch has said it is concerned about the increasing use of 바카라�preventive policing바카라� against minority dissenters in India.

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju defended the legislation, saying it was meant to 바카라�ensure transparency and efficiency in the administration of waqf assets바카라�. He dismissed criticism of the law as 바카라�misguided fear-mongering by vested interests.바카라�

Yet for many in the Muslim community, the fears are real. 바카라�We are being forced to defend rights that the Constitution already guarantees us,바카라� said Maulana Arshad Madani of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, which has also backed protests and cautioned NDA allies like the JD(U) and TDP against supporting the bill. 바카라�If they do, even the 바카라�crutches바카라� will not escape responsibility.바카라�

The Supreme Court set to hear at least seven PILs against the Waqf Amendment Act later this month, including those filed by Owaisi and RS MP Imran Pratapgarhi. On April 7, CJI Sanjeev Khanna refused to grant an urgent hearing on the petitions saying 바카라�systems were in place.바카라�