Waqf Amendment Act: Fear, Anger, Disbelief in Western UP

Shibli wasn바카라�t alone to get the notice. Three hundred 바카라�anti-social elements바카라�, identified through CCTV cameras바카라�who were at Ayesha Mosque on March 28 for the Alvida Jummah namaz ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr on March 31바카라�were slapped with similar notices. The Waqf Bill was scheduled to be discussed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on April 3 and 4, respectively. Muslim organisations and opposition parties across the country had started raising their voices against the proposed amendments.

바카라�We got a message from the AIMPLB (All India Muslim Personal Law Board) instructing us to wear black bands for the namaz to protest against the Waqf Bill. We were told to keep it quiet and peaceful. That바카라�s what we did. There was no sloganeering, no noise, no demonstration, no uproar, and yet we got these notices. That바카라�s unfair,바카라� says Shibli. Not all 300 were wearing black bands, not all who got notices were present at the Ayesha Mosque that day바카라�two were definitely in Delhi, informs Shibli.

When we meet him, it has been almost 10 days since he got the notice. Scores of journalists have walked into the mosque for quotes and bytes since then. The fruit vendors outside the mosque now guide them in and sometimes share their views as well. 바카라�Not on camera, and no photos,바카라� says one and adds: 바카라�By issuing these notices, that too when people were protesting silently, it seems the police have begun a crackdown on those opposing the Waqf Bill.바카라�

The 바카라�no camera-no photos바카라� norm follows us wherever we go in Western Uttar Pradesh. People are scared and cautious to talk about the contentious issue. At many locations, we are mistaken for government employees surveying waqf properties and shown the door. In busy marketplaces, the presence of journalists is met with 바카라�it has started바카라� jibes.

Several rumours are floating around. While some say the amendments are a ploy to snatch lands and properties owned by Muslims and hand them over to the government and corporates, the others say the passing of the Bill is an excuse to interfere with the religious practices of Muslims and is an attempt to fan the fire ahead of the 2027 state elections. The general consensus is that there is no need to tamper with an existing system when there are other pressing issues바카라�like unemployment, inflation and poverty바카라�to deal with. People also mention that they are reading about the waqf-related violence in West Bengal and are keeping their fingers crossed.

The state government has said that it will educate people about the new law to avoid any misunderstandings. The sooner it is done the better, especially in Muzaffarnagar which has a chequered history. People have still not forgotten the 2013 riots between Hindu Jats and Muslims, which left several dead and thousands displaced.

While it바카라�s business as usual in Muzaffarnagar after the passage of the Bill, the local media has started identifying disputed waqf properties and writing about them. As per government records, there are 2,289 waqf properties in Muzaffarnagar. Not many are aware of these properties, the Waqf Bill or the amendments, but people are anticipating that something is going to happen in the coming days, as the state government has said it will start identifying and seizing illegal and encroached upon waqf properties across Uttar Pradesh바카라�a state that has the highest number of waqf properties in the country.

Among the disputed waqf properties in Muzaffarnagar is the one owned by Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. It involves a mosque and four shops located near the Muzaffarnagar railway station. The legitimacy of its ownership has led to complications바카라�one faction claims the land belongs to the Waqf Board, while another argues it is a product of unlawful encroachment.

The dispute can be traced back to 1918, when the land was occupied by Liaquat바카라�s father Rustam Ali Khan, who had a deep personal and political connection with Muzaffarnagar. The family owned several properties here, including the one in question. However, after the 1947 Partition and Liaquat바카라�s migration to Pakistan, the properties owned by the family were declared 바카라�enemy properties바카라�.

In 2023, the Rashtriya Hindu Shakti Sangathan alleged that the mosque and four shops were built illegally on 바카라�enemy property바카라�, as no permission was taken from the Muzaffarnagar Development Authority, and there is no record of this property with the Waqf Board. The dispute was referred to the Custodian of Enemy Property for India and the survey team found the property to be under the ownership of Rustam Ali Khan. The government told the occupants to vacate the premises.

However, the occupants maintain that the land is waqf property. 바카라�It belonged to Rustam Ali Khan. In 1918, he endowed it as waqf. He died here so it바카라�s wrong to claim that it belongs to Liaquat and is 바카라�enemy property바카라�. The old, dilapidated structure was renovated in 2014, hence it looks new. The mutawalli (trustee/custodian) has all the documents proving it to be waqf property,바카라� informs the imam. One of the shopkeepers says: 바카라�I have been instructed to fight silently and not talk to journalists.바카라�

Our next stop is the Waqf Board office located in the heart of Muzaffarnagar, at Meenakshi Chowk. Hidden behind a giant Peepul tree and tucked in between dozens of auto repair shops, the office is almost invisible. It looks after the properties of Nawab Azmat Ali Khan Trust, who owns the maximum number of waqf properties in Muzaffarnagar, worth crores. The Trust owns schools, inter colleges, mosques, madrasas and shops. Many children, especially from economically weaker sections of society, study in these institutions. The Trust also pays widow pensions. Around 200 shops in and around Meenakshi Chowk are built on waqf property owned by the Trust. The shop owners have been paying a nominal rent for years.

바카라�We welcome some of the new changes,바카라� says Kausar Jalees, 67, who is the legal advisor to the Nawab Azmat Ali Khan Trust. 바카라�It바카라�s a fact that mismanagement has been happening on many waqf properties. If the new amendments help in resolving these long-pending issues, it바카라�s a welcome step,바카라� he adds.

Many properties owned by the Trust are also facing illegal encroachment and are mired in legal disputes. The prominent one is the case of Anjuman Islamiya. In 1923, the Trust donated 30 bigha land, reportedly worth Rs 500 crore, on a 99-year lease and an annual rent of Rs 80/year to Anjuman Islamia. They were instructed to build a school and a boarding. Over the years, Anjuman Islamiya allegedly built numerous shops on the property and has been collecting rent from the shop owners. After the Waqf Tribunal in Lucknow stayed the matter, the parties approached the Allahabad High Court. The HC recently passed a judgement in favour of the Trust.

바카라�Many waqfs are entangled in such legal battles. It바카라�s time-consuming. There is only one tribunal in the state now, in Lucknow. We are still a big Trust and have the manpower and funds to fight legal battles that have dragged on for years. Many small waqfs are unable to do so. We are hoping that the new law will take care of these issues,바카라� says Jalees.

While he welcomes the inclusion of two women in State Waqf Boards and Central Waqf Council, he says he is not sure if the inclusion of non-Muslims would be welcomed by the community. When asked if the new law will help Pasmanda Muslims바카라�the most backward and socially oppressed among the community바카라�Jalees says that is the very purpose of waqf, but with many waqfs acting as land mafia, the benefits have not reached the underprivileged.

The Pasmanda representatives have welcomed the move. On April 12, Mohammad Shamshad Mir, the state head of an outfit representing Pasmanda Muslims, organised a rally and said the erosion of land mafias will benefit those from backward communities. A crackdown on illegal properties worth crore is the need of the hour, he said.

These are political views. On the ground, however, this section of society is not happy with the new law바카라�their views are clouded by the various rumours floating around.

An hour-long drive takes us to a basti in the middle of nowhere where those displaced after the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots have been living. There are brick structures and open drains. A wedding is going on. There is a red and pink shamiyana. Men are sitting on chairs sipping colas on a hot Sunday afternoon. Decked-up children are running around. Food is being prepared somewhere. Flies and mosquitoes are buzzing around. When told we are there to talk to them about the new waqf law, two charpoys are laid out. A few men바카라�young and old바카라�gather to discuss the issue that바카라�s bothering them.

바카라�Talk about poverty and unemployment. But the government won바카라�t talk about any of this. Instead, it is eyeing our land. What has the government got to do with that? They want to sell our land to corporates and make us poorer than we already are. The new law is a ploy to fuel Hindu-Muslim riots ahead of the 2027 state elections. The waqf surveys will lead to that,바카라� says Shamshad, 65. He adds after a pause: 바카라�If we are not asking for a representation in temples and gurudwaras, why should we allow Hindus to be part of our Waqf Boards?바카라�

Sitting next to him, Mohsin, 39, offers a reasonable point of view. 바카라�In our village where we used to live before the riots broke out, there were madrasas, masjids and kabristans, all run by Waqf. We got displaced and moved here. We gradually built our homes and this basti. However, we didn바카라�t have a burial ground. We collected money, bought some land and built a kabristan. Neither the government nor any Waqf Board came forward to help us,바카라� he says. 바카라�It바카라�s politics and we don바카라�t want to be a part of it,바카라� says Naseem, 34, his brother. 바카라�The government will do what it wishes to. My only request is that those in power should not say anything that will incite communal tensions,바카라� he adds.

The women in the basti were clueless about waqf or the new law. Their lives revolve around the kitchen and children, they say, and add that even if they knew, they would prefer not to talk about anything political.

Deoband바카라�s Opposition

The silent treatment and media aversion continues the next day in Deoband바카라�about 25 km from Muzaffarnagar. The white structure of Darul Uloom Deoband바카라�the Islamic university and seminary at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began바카라�is visible from the highway.

A bypass takes us to Darul Uloom. Hundreds of young boys, wearing chaste white kurta-pajama, are moving from one building to the other. They have arrived from all over the country for the annual entrance exam. The narrow lanes are lined with tea stalls and samosa and chole bhature shops. A few students are grabbing a quick breakfast.

The gatekeeper asks if we have an appointment and mentions that the teachers, students and anyone from the administration are not authorised to talk to journalists.

Darul Uloom Deoband first opposed the Waqf Amendment Bill before the Joint Parliamentary Committee last year. They argued that the bill inappropriately interferes with the religious nature of the existing Waqf Act. In March 2025, Maulana Arshad Madani, an Islamic scholar, the principal of Darul Uloom Deoband and the president of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, expressed opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, arguing that it would impact Muslim rights and the autonomy of Waqf properties. The Jamiat has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, claiming it is a 바카라�dangerous conspiracy바카라� to strip Muslims of their religious freedom. When contacted, Madani says: 바카라�I don바카라�t discuss politics in Deoband. I comment on political issues only when I am in Delhi.바카라�

The shops have started opening. Saifullah, who makes stone-based nameplates, is arranging slabs of stones. 바카라�Our daily life revolves around finishing pending orders and getting more work. We don바카라�t have time to form political opinions. Honestly, given the situation in the country presently, they don바카라�t want us to have an opinion or a voice,바카라� he says, and asks: 바카라�I have heard that the government is planning to snatch even 100-year-old waqf properties. Is it true?바카라� His neighbour, who owns a chicken shop, walks in and says: 바카라�I have been reading about the violence in Bengal. I don바카라�t think any protests are going to happen here. The administration here is too strict. Bulldozer justice is a reality. It would be better if we don바카라�t talk about any of this.바카라�

Saharanpur바카라�s Waqf Properties

The same highway takes us to Saharapur바카라� home to the country바카라�s largest centre for wooden furniture and hand-carved wooden products as well as around 5,000 waqf properties.

Our first stop is the Jama Masjid, situated in the old city area. The placard outside mentions it바카라�s waqf property, but the authorities refused to provide additional information. The area around the masjid resembles a maze. There are hundreds of shops tucked in narrow lanes. Navigating through these lanes in search of waqf properties isn바카라�t easy because most maintain the 바카라�no comment바카라� or 바카라�not aware바카라� stance. 바카라�All these shops are standing on a waqf property, but they won바카라�t talk,바카라� says a shop owner.

Tucked amid numerous garments shops is the 60-year-old Nagina building. The owners have endowed it as waqf and, in an unusual move, have leased the shops to Hindu shopkeepers. The owners collect a nominal rent from the beneficiaries and a portion goes to the Jama Masjid Waqf. 바카라�They treat us like family. Whenever there is a communal disturbance in the area, they come to our rescue,바카라� says one of the shopkeepers.

Another narrow lane takes us to Madrasa Mazahir Uloom바카라� regarded as the second most influential and major Deobandi seminary in India. The stunning and sprawling structure hosts around 400 students from economically weak backgrounds across the country. They get free education and lodging as well as access to the three-floor library housing thousands of books.

바카라�We purely run on charity. We have never taken a single penny from the government. Once, they sent a cheque of Rs 10 lakh. We returned it politely. We often face a fund crunch, because our expenses are way more than the earnings. But we will continue this way because that is the true purpose of waqf,바카라� says Mohammad Assad Haqqani, who is a part of the managing committee.

Narrating how the madrasa has been getting support from the state government, Haqqani adds: 바카라�During Covid, when the lockdown was announced, many students were stuck here. When the special trains started running, the district administration would personally call us and ask for the list of students. We reciprocated the gesture by converting the empty madrasa building into a quarantine centre.바카라�

On our way back, we stop at the famous 바카라�lakkad bazaar바카라�. Craftsmen, mostly Muslim, are busy carving on wooden planks. Mohammad Salman, 29, says: 바카라�I am in favour of the new law as it will help in proper management of waqf properties. I feel Pasmanda Muslims stand to benefit if proper utilisation of waqf properties happens.바카라� In another shop, Mohammad Farhan, 24, is cutting wooden planks with the help of a chainsaw. 바카라�I have never come across anyone who has benefited from waqf.바카라�

As the sun sets, Firoz, 32, while winding up for the day, says: 바카라�Policy decisions don바카라�t have a direct impact on people on the ground. What we want is that the government should talk about poverty and unemployment. And real talk, not the 바카라�Rs 15 lakh in each account바카라� kind of talks.바카라�

Swati Subhedar is Assistant Editor, Outlook

This article is part of Outlook바카라�s May 01, 2025 issue 'Username Waqf' which looks at the Waqf Amendment Act of 2025, its implications, and how it is perceived by the Muslim community. It appeared in print as 'Fear, Anger Disbelief.'