The controversy related to the Karnataka Waqf Board is gaining momentum at a time when the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) may benefit from it in the upcoming elections. Also, after this, the BJP can strongly push forward the demand for amendment in the Waqf Act in the country.
In fact, this controversy has given a new color to the NDA’s campaign in the assembly elections and by-elections to be held in some states of the country.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has described the Waqf Board as a land grabber in his speeches in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
There are also apprehensions that by doing this, he is helping his party members so that some predetermined amendments can be made in the United Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Bill before it goes before the JPC i.e. Joint Parliamentary Committee.
JPC chairman Jagadambika Pal told the BBC, “There has been a 38 percent increase in the notices sent to farmers since the bill was introduced two and a half months ago.” These notices claimed that farmers were occupying Waqf land in Karnataka. However, some Congress leaders, on the condition of anonymity, blame the entire incident on the ‘immaturity’ of Karnataka government’s Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, who is being described as the center of this entire controversy. In this case, Professor Muzaffar Asadi, a political analyst and former Dean of Mysore University, told the BBC, “If such things are fabricated, then it also includes things that can become a reason for reducing social harmony at the ground level.” Basically, there is a belief in political circles that the Karnataka Waqf controversy will prove helpful in the case of BJP’s Waqf Amendment Bill. In this, he will only carry forward the stand of BJP, in which BJP says that the responsibility of administration of Waqf should remain with the District Collector and Deputy Commissioner.
An opposition member included in JPC says about this step of BJP that if this happens then the Waqf Board will become a ‘toothless lion’. Meaning, it will not have any power.
What is the controversy regarding Waqf Board in Karnataka?
A few weeks ago, a small group of farmers expressed their displeasure over the notices they received. In these notices, it was claimed that the farmers have occupied the land of the Waqf Board in the village. This village is five kilometers away from the district headquarters Vijayapura.
The tension in this matter increased further, when in the notice received by some villagers, survey number 1029 was mentioned instead of survey number 1020. Although this mistake was made at the level of the clerk, but it was a serious mistake. Because the land number 1029 was in the name of Lingayat Math.
Farmers’ concern over Waqf claims further fuelled the rumours. Meanwhile, the election campaign for the by-election to the Karnataka Assembly had just begun. In such a situation, the BJP got an opportunity to make it an issue.
Vijayapura district in-charge minister MB Patil told reporters that these notices were issued during the BJP’s rule between 2019 and 2022. He also released copies of the notices sent to farmers of Kalaburagi and other districts.
What is the need to take back the land after years?
A senior official told BBC Hindi on the condition of anonymity, “These notices were not issued indiscriminately. The process of taking back Waqf land was started very fast. The first survey was done in the year 1962, which was completed in the year 1978. The second survey started in the year 2003 and ended in the year 2014. And this survey was completed in the year 2020.” It was in the year 2020, when after the final notification was issued, the Waqf Board came to know that it has 1.10 lakh acres of land in Karnataka. In the next three years, 2200 acres of land was added to this land. However, after the abolition of the Inam Abolition Act in 1974, the Waqf Board had to lose 71 thousand acres of land. And after the Land Reforms Act came, it had to lose another 3 thousand acres of land.
The official said, “The Waqf Board had 37 thousand acres of land left, out of which 20 thousand acres of land is with the Waqf Board. Out of the total land, there is still a dispute with the muthavallis regarding the remaining 17 thousand acres of land. The muthavallis take care of the waqf land.”
A senior official told BBC Hindi on the condition of anonymity, “The ownership of the land has changed several times in the last few years. The land given to the Waqf by the Muslim family had either been encroached or sold by some anti-social element. Notices were issued. After the papers were presented, people were asked to stay there.”
Why did the process of sending notices start recently?
But, some officials as well as some Congress leaders, on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to BBC that the reason for this matter getting escalated is the campaign of Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, in which he took two muthwallis to the State Waqf Council.
On the condition of anonymity, a cabinet minister told BBC Hindi, “First of all, it was a bit strange that a minister should field a candidate for a small post and also campaign. Secondly, he gave an emotional speech, that the will of the Waqf Court certifies the property of the Waqf, which was completely against the existing rule. Because, this power is only with the Waqf Tribunal, not with the minister. Meanwhile, he told the officials to issue notices to everyone.”
This video of his speeches went viral during the by-elections to be held in three assemblies. This put pressure on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to immediately cancel the notices issued to the farmers.
However, Zameer Ahmed Khan did not respond to BBC’s questions for three days. This report will be updated after his response.
Meanwhile, BJP started a strong campaign. Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya even tweeted that a farmer committed suicide after receiving the notice.
However, he deleted this tweet soon after. The reason for this was the statement of the district police officer, in which it was said that the reason for the farmer’s death was something else.
(An FIR was also registered against Tejasvi Surya in this case. He got a stay from the High Court in the investigation related to this case.)
Also Read: ECI: Why is there uneasiness within the Mahayuti in Maharashtra about Yogi’s slogan ‘If divided, they will be cut off’?
JPC Chairman surprised by action
JPC Chairman Jagadambika Pal met the farmers in the Waqf Bill case. He also met farmers from Hubli, Vijayapura and Belgaum.
Pal told the BBC, “I met hundreds of farmers and I also received petitions from representatives of religious institutions. All of them had been cultivating their land for hundreds of years.”
He said that he had found a similar situation in Odisha, where the local Waqf Board had evicted tribals from their forests and land.
He said, “Forest land cannot belong to anyone. Apart from the Forest Department, only tribals have some rights in this matter. Here tribals were evicted from their land, based on the claims made by the Waqf. Similarly, in the rest of the country, lakhs of people have been affected in this way.”
Jagdambika Pal has been a former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He said that the JPC will listen to all the stakeholders and their suggestions. He said, “We are committed to making a detailed report.”
What is the meaning of the Waqf dispute?
However, political analysts believe that BJP is ready to take advantage of this issue, while Congress is trying to ignore it completely.
Political analyst Professor Harish Ramaswami told BBC Hindi, “Congress has decorated a big cake on a plate and given it to BJP. BJP will now try to attract only Hindu votes through this. For this, it will also make the false claim that the land of Hindus is being snatched by Waqf. There are emotions attached to the land. Congress will have to be very cautious about this issue in future elections.”
Professor Asadi sees this matter differently. He says, “The purpose behind exaggerating this issue and making it so big is to make the Muslim community even more uncomfortable at the ground level.”
But, people have also given different reactions to this issue in an event held a week ago. This occasion was the Prana Pratishtha ceremony of a temple in Vijayapura, which was recently renovated.
When BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal said in his speech that ‘Waqf had claimed’ 8 acres of land, people objected to his speech. People told the MLA, “Please do not talk about politics here.”
Yatnal stopped speaking and left the stage. Then a group of people present in the audience told him, “All communities have donated lakhs of rupees for the renovation of this temple. This includes Muslims as well.”
Kerala Story
A strange problem has come to light in Kerala. About 614 fishermen families in Kochi’s suburb Munambam are facing a difficult situation. In fact, the City Corporation has declared 114 acres of land as Waqf land and has not even collected tax from the people living there. This means that they can no longer even repair their dilapidated houses.
The main problem is that the Travancore Royal Family had given 407.6 acres of land to Farooq College as a ‘waqf deed’. (However, due to floods, this land has now been reduced to 114 acres.) Two conditions were imposed for this then. One was that the college can sell this land and use the money received from it for educational purposes. The second was that if this land is being used only for educational purposes, then the legal heirs can take it back.
A lawyer, Muhammad Shah, told BBC Hindi, “The college had filed a petition in 1967 to remove the encroachers. The lower court had declared this land as Waqf land. The college then appealed to the High Court, which declared this land as ‘Waqf Deed’. After that the division bench said that this is Waqf land. This is very contradictory.”
Interestingly, most of the fishermen families are Christians, to whom the college authorities had sold this land. Shah said, “This is a legal battle that needs to be resolved.”
Sha represents the Council for Community Cooperation. The three partners of the council include Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, president of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, Sadiq Ali Thangal, president of the Indian Union Muslim League and Shivagiri Madatipati, head of the Shivagiri Math.
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