Srinagar: The introduction of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (April 2) triggered an uproar in Kashmir, with major political parties, including the ruling National Conference (NC), terming it a move to disenfranchise Muslims in the country.Chief minister Omar Abdullah termed the Bill an attempt to target “one religion”, while asserting that it would not be acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.“Every religion has a charitable wing. When we have to make charitable donations, we do it through the waqf board. Targeting this institution is a regrettable decision. It seems only our institution of charity is being targeted. Now it is up to parliament, and our members will oppose the Bill,” Abdullah told reporters.The ruling NC has two parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha – Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, who won from central Kashmir’s Srinagar-Budgam constituency, and Mian Altaf Larvi, who secured the delimited Anantnag-Rajouri seat in the 2024 general election.Moderate Hurriyat chairman and Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that the concerns raised by Muslim organisations before the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill earlier this year have not been addressed.“Today crores of Muslims in India like mute spectators are haplessly watching their rights and institutions being blatantly undermined and feel greatly let down,” Mirwaiz said in a post on X.The Hurriyat chairman had met JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal in the national capital in January this year along with senior Islamic theorists and clerics representing some of the most influential Muslim bodies of Jammu and Kashmir.During the meeting, Mirwaiz had submitted a memorandum about the concerns of Jammu and Kashmir’s religious bodies on the proposed amendments to the Bill.Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti termed the Bill a “conspiracy to harass and dispossess the Muslims”.She said her party had no hopes from the BJP-led Union government “given how Muslims are lynched, mosques are demolished and attempts are being made to encroach [upon] Muslim graveyards over the last 11 years”.“India is Gandhi’s nation and it should work as per the constitution and not according to the BJP’s agenda. If we don’t want our country to become like Myanmar and if we don’t want our Muslims to be treated the way Kashmiri Pandits were treated, for which we are still ashamed and we are still facing taunts, our Hindu brethren should come forward,” Mufti, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said.She added: “The BJP is pursuing the policy of breaking the country. If our countrymen watch like mute spectators, then no one will stop the country from falling into disarray. The BJP may run the country for another five years or more, but ultimately they will have to pave the way for [another] party. The countrymen should wake up and stop these attempts to take over the waqf board”.People’s Conference chairman Sajad Lone also criticised the BJP-led Union government’s “blatant interference” in the religious affairs of Muslims while opposing the new Bill.“Waqf by definition is the custodian of properties which are collectively owned by Muslims. It is an Islamic concept. The proposed amendment by parliament is a blatant interference in our faith aimed at divesting rightful custodians of their authority. Yet another right wing trespass,” he said in a post on X.Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari also opposed the Bill, saying that it would “deprive the Muslim community of control over waqf assets as well as their administration”.“The government claims that this amendment Bill is intended to improve the administration of waqf properties and ensure transparency. No one opposes measures for better management and transparency, but such legislation is not necessary. Improvement and transparency can be achieved without amending the existing Waqf Act,” he said.PDP leader Waheed Parra also opposed the new Bill. In a post on X, Parra said: “Waqf Bill mirrors J&K Reorganisation Bill, prioritising control over community rights. Just like the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, which reorganised the state into Union territories, the Waqf Bill seeks to centralise authority over community properties”.However, senior Jammu and Kashmir BJP leader and chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir waqf board Darakhshan Andrabi welcomed the new Bill.In a statement, Andrabi said that the new Bill would “enhance the management of waqf properties without causing any adverse effects”.She “highlighted that the Bill, once enacted, would significantly improve waqf institutions by introducing greater transparency and accountability. She underscored the importance of legislative reforms in strengthening the governance of waqf assets,” the statement said.
