I write this not as a Muslim, not as a public voice, but as a Hindu Kashmiri Pandit – a member of a community that knows the taste of displacement, of silence forced by fear, of temples emptied and homes erased by political failure. And it is precisely because I know what communal injustice feels like, that I cannot, and will not, stay silent as this government sharpens its axe against yet another community – this time, through the Waqf Act.Let the truth be laid bare. The amendments to the Waqf Act are not about transparency. They are about tyranny. These amendments give the government sweeping powers to take over Waqf land, override Waqf Boards, and reduce centuries-old institutions into state controlled shells. It turns mosques, dargahs and charitable trusts into “assets” to be mined, not spiritual legacies to be preserved. The betrayal is not new. In Jammu & Kashmir, the Auqaf-e-Islamia once flourished independently – serving the poor, funding hospitals and schools, and maintaining spiritual spaces. But under Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, its autonomy was systematically stripped. The Auqaf was converted into a government department, its religious integrity dissolved into bureaucratic submission. What was sacred was made administrative and servile. Also read: Why the Waqf Bill Passage Is Not a ‘Muslim’ Issue, It Affects all of IndiaThat wasn’t reform. That was a quiet suffocation. And now, the Bharatiya Janata Party seeks to replicate that model across India with louder applause and deeper cruelty. The Waqf amendments are not about accountabilityThis is not about corruption or accountability. If it were, why are Hindu trusts exempt? Why are Sikh Gurdwara Boards or Christian institutions left untouched? This is not secularism. This is a scalpel wielded with the cold precision of majoritarian fear mongering. What the state could not demolish with riots, it is now destroying with legal ink. Even those who cheer this must ask themselves: when you celebrate the state’s conquest over faith, are you not digging your own grave? If Waqf land can be taken today, why not your temple tomorrow? I say this as someone who lost a homeland once. I will not lose my soul to silence again. Also read: Rs 10-Lakh Bonds, Notices for Silent Protests: UP Is Cracking Down on All Criticism of Waqf Act AmendmentsThis is not a Muslim issue. It is a moral issue. It is about what kind of India we leave behind for every faith, for every child, for every forgotten prayer.This won’t just claim land. It will bury the last remnants of our shared conscience. And to those watching in silence: when the law begins to target faith, remember that it will not stop with Muslims. Power unchecked is never satiated. Today, it’s the Waqf. Tomorrow, it could be your temple, your trust, your freedom. Rise. Resist. Remember who we are. This land was never meant for one religion, it was built for all. When the law becomes a weapon in the hands of the powerful, it no longer governs, it conquers. And when conscience dies in silence, tyranny marches in the robes of legislation. Shriya Handoo is an advocate.
