Parliament passed a new Waqf Act in 1995 repealing the 1954 Act. Major amendments were made in 2013. I counted 57 amendments.

Barely 12 years have passed. If, based on complaints from stakeholders, the government had concluded that amendments were necessary or expedient, it could have brought reforms through an amendment Bill. However, reform of the law is not what the Waqf  (Amendment) Bill, 2025 does. On the contrary, it has taken a scythe to the existing law and mutilated it beyond recognition.

The first principle in a multi-religious democratic country is that all religions are equal. The administration of religious institutions must be in the hands of persons belonging to the religious denomination. In India, where a majority of the people are Hindus, the principle will apply to Hindu religious and charitable institutions. In the case of ‘minority’ religions too, the principle will apply according to the Constitution of India. Article 26 reads:

Freedom to manage religious affairs —

Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right —

(a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes;

(b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion;

(c) to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and

(d) to administer such........

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