India Greenlights Bill to Revamp Muslim Land Management Boards

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India Enacts Legislation to Revamp Muslim Land-Management Organizations

Key Highlights:

India has approved a bill aimed at overhauling wealthy Muslim land-management organizations.
Opposition parties accuse the Modi administration of pursuing divisive politics.
The government contends that the bill will enhance transparency within influential Waqf boards.

NEW DELHI: India’s parliament approved a piece of legislation on Thursday intended to reform affluent Muslim land-management organizations. The Hindu nationalist government asserts that this will enhance accountability, while opposition groups label it as an "assault" on a minority community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration argues that the new bill will improve transparency concerning the many powerful Waqf boards that manage properties donated by Muslims for charitable purposes.

Across India, approximately two dozen Waqf boards control nearly 900,000 acres (around 365,000 hectares) of land, positioning them as one of the largest landholders, rivaling the railways and the defense sector.

Kiren Rijiju, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs who introduced the bill, stated that it aims to tackle corruption and mismanagement while diminishing the influence of a handful of entrenched factions.

The legislation passed in the lower house after an extended debate that lasted into the early hours of Thursday morning. It is anticipated that the upper house will also approve the bill later in the day, which would grant significant oversight powers to civil servants regarding Waqf boards.

Interior Minister Amit Shah, a key ally of Modi, expressed that these reforms are crucial to "identify individuals profiting from leasing these properties." He noted that "funds that could be directed toward minority development are being misappropriated."

While non-Muslims will now be allowed to join the boards under this new law, their involvement is limited to "administrative" matters, as noted by Shah.

However, opposition parties charge that the government is engaging in "polarizing politics" that marginalizes India’s Muslim population of approximately 200 million.

Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress Party, described the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as a weapon designed to disenfranchise Muslims and infringe upon their personal laws and property rights. He criticized the legislation as an "attack" by Hindu nationalists, claiming it targets Muslims now but sets a dangerous precedent that could threaten other communities in the future.

Opponents view the bill as part of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) strategy to consolidate support from its right-wing Hindu base. The BJP has historically endorsed claims that mosques were built over ancient Hindu temples and has spearheaded efforts to construct a grand Hindu temple on the site of a demolished mosque from the Mughal era in Ayodhya.