A very important news-item was overlooked by the mainstream media last week. BJP president Nitin Gadkari instructed all Chief Ministers of the BJP-run states to clear encroachment and illegal occupation of Waqf properties. Apart from that, he requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to help recover waqf properties. He pointed out that at least `12,000 crore revenue may be generated from these properties which cover approximately 8 lakh acres in metropolitan and other big cities. He suggested that the generated money (from waqf properties) could be used to coach Muslim students, impart skills and may be used to pay salaries to Muezzins. Gadkari said that work on recovering waqf properties from encroachments will begin in all BJP-run states and other states may follow suit.
Justice (Retd.) G.R. Bhattacharya, in his 1355-page report on waqf properties in West Bengal, had exposed misappropriation of total 160 waqf properties valued at `1,300 crore during the period from 1982 to 1995. The value of Prince Ghulam Muhammad waqf properties alone is estimated at several thousand crore and the irony is that the illegal occupant is not an individual but the government itself. Corruption in the Waqf Board is responsible for encroachment on lands. The land allotted for the welfare of Tipu Sultan’s family members in Tollygunj and S.M. Road under Ghulam Muhammad Estate Waqf and 200 katthas of land adjacent to these were sold to capitalists like Manpuria. Waqf Board also gave waqf properties of lakhs of square feet on hundred years lease. The report, like all other such reports, is getting dust and the involved persons are making a mockery of law.
Muslim psyche is immune to all issues which are not sentimental. Otherwise the cover story of Saba Naqvi “Waqf – India’s biggest land scandal” in the Outlook magazine (September 21, 2009) should have opened their eyes because biggest encroachers on waqf lands are either Muslims themselves or the government. The article disclosed that the Maharashtra Waqf Board sold 4,532 Sq metre plot on posh Altamount Road in Mumbai to Mukesh Ambani for only `16 lakh whereas its then market value was `21 crore. A 27-storey skyscraper is coming on it. The 90,000 Sq feet prime land at Lal Bagh in Bangalore which has a market value of `90 crore was sold for just 1 crore. In Aurangabad, 14 acres of land worth `60 crore was sold for `8 crore.
The said Report flashes shocking messages in these words: “400,000 acres – 300,000 properties. Waqf Boards around the country are doling out land meant for poor Muslims for a pittance”. But alas our leadership and intellectuals are still sleeping and waiting for an emotional issue to confront the Muslim masses.
It should not be concluded that all fault lies with Waqf Boards alone. No doubt a section of Waqf Board managers is highly opportunistic and dishonest but there are some other reasons too behind continuous encroachment on waqf properties. Waqf laws lack sufficient teeth to deal with offenders. Snail pace of justice delivery system and callous attitude of local authorities are equally responsible. Take the example of Muslim graveyard of Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh). Nawab of Kadapa had granted 1.1 acre land 260 years ago for the burial ground. Until 1966, the graveyard was under possession of Muslims when some anti-social elements flattened the graves and erected huts over them. The Muthavalli of the graveyard Allahbaksh Mian approached the authorities from day one but could not succeed in getting back land. In 1967 even District Collector R.M. Sastry on the written instruction of Secretary of Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board ordered the municipal authorities to remove encroachment but ultimately the result remained zero and in 1970, they occupied more land. Even the order of the High Court failed to vacate the graveyard and in 1988, the Muthavalli handed over maintenance of graveyard to the Committee of Roshan Munawwar Mosque out of frustration. Till date the case in pending with Waqf Board Tribunal after 157 adjournments. This is our justice delivery system.
Gadkari’s initiative is welcome but at the same time he should be reminded that the land of demolished Babri Masjid in Ayodhya also belongs to waqf. The case of title suit is being contested by Sunni Waqf Board. It will be an appropriate step if BJP president begins his mission by withdrawing illegal, unethical and undemocratic encroachment on the land on which Babri Masjid was standing for over last 450 years till it was demolished by Hindutva terrorists. It will open a new chapter in the history of Hindu-Muslim relations not only in India but in the Indian sub-continent.
Two-fold actions on war footing are necessary if one is really serious about waqf properties and lands. Most of Waqf Board chairmen in states as well as on local levels are drawn from petty politicians of political parties. All the corruption in waqf boards is due to them because nothing except money matters to them. Muslims have large sections of retired professionals, administrators and bureaucrats; Waqf Board chairmen should be drawn from them. Secondly, a suitable law must be enacted by the Parliament providing statutory power for the waqf board, so that they may take possession of all the notified waqf lands in the country under a time-bound plan.
It must be kept in mind that waqf properties in the country are sufficient to solve many problems of Muslims like unemployment, socio-economic backwardness and illiteracy. Gadkari’s letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and instruction to BJP-run states have far reaching consequences. Muslim parliamentarians and intellectuals should seriously consider Gadkari’s concern over misuse of waqf properties without any bias, political implication of the call notwithstanding. Gadkari has given a call and he should now translate it into reality and I will again suggest that his first step should be in respect of restoring Babri Masjid at its original place: it will also restore dignity of the Constitution of India which was also undermined in 1992.
[The writer is Aligarh based socio-political analyst.]