In Bhopal, a Waqf complex was illegally constructed on government land, and out of 125 registered graveyards, 101 have mysteriously disappeared, with private individuals occupying the land. Additionally, a 24,450 sq. ft. Waqf property at Sarai Sikandari has seen 1,800 sq. ft. encroached upon by a local politician. In Hyderabad, 765 notices were issued to encroachers in 2021 alone, while Telangana’s Waqf Board, one of India’s richest, owns assets worth Rs 5 lakh crore, yet 75 per cent of its land is encroached upon.

Akbaruddin Owaisi has also stated that 82 per cent of Waqf land in Hyderabad has been grabbed by private individuals. In Mumbai, over 60 per cent of Maharashtra’s Waqf land has been illegally occupied, with the Lal Shah Baba Dargah in Parel, originally spanning 72 acres, now surrounded by residential towers built on Waqf land. In Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh government has reported that 78 per cent of the land claimed by the Waqf Board is actually government-owned, with no legal Waqf rights, and a 1989 government order that illegally registered uncultivable land as Waqf property has been revoked. In Patna, the Bihar Sunni Waqf Board issued a notice claiming ownership of land in the Hindu-majority village of Govindpur, affecting seven Hindu households.

In Ernakulam, Kerala, in September 2024, around 600 Christian families, particularly from the Cherai and Munambam areas, opposed the Waqf Board’s claim over their land, which they argue has been in their possession for generations.

All the aforesaid examples are a grim reminder of why the opaque and illegal Waqf Act of 1995, which bred corruption and disempowered poor Muslims, needed a thorough overhaul. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has empowered the marginalised Muslims of India with his bold reforms in this regard.

President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, days after Parliament passed the legislation. The new Act aligns with UMEED — Unified Waqf Management Empowerment, Efficiency and Development. The Rajya Sabha cleared the Bill with 128 votes in favour and 95 against, following nearly 17 hours of discussion. The Lok Sabha had passed the legislation after a 13-hour marathon debate, with 288 votes in favour and 232 against.

Let the truth be told — the new Act (UMEED) is Prime Minister Modi’s generous saugaat — that is, gift — to India’s deprived and vulnerable Muslims, long used as vote banks by successive Congress regimes.

Waqf is a permanent dedication of movable or immovable property for religious, pious, or charitable purposes recognised under Muslim law. The management of Waqf properties has been governed by the Waqf Act, 1995, under the supervision of State Waqf Boards and the Central Waqf Council. The Charity Commissioner of Public Trusts regulates and supervises the functioning of Public Trusts established by any religion.

Public Trusts are legal arrangements whereby property or assets are set aside by individuals or organisations for public benefit in religious, charitable, educational, or social welfare domains. They are regulated under various State Public Trust Acts, such as, for instance, the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 2012 (earlier the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950), and are administered by Charity Commissioners. However, the regulating body of Waqf, i.e., the Waqf Board, is not a legal or religious body; it is merely a statutory body responsible for the supervision and management of land affairs.

Under the garb of secularism, for the longest time, successive Congress-led........

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