Rajagopal, a 70-year-old farmer from the tiruchirappalli region of tamil Nadu, was astonished when he attempted to sell his 1.2-acre plot to pay for his daughter's wedding. He received a 20-page paper from the sub-registrar's office stating that the tamil Nadu Waqf Board actually owned his land.
The village of Thiruchenthurai, where the 1,500-year-old Sundareswarar temple is located, was reportedly Waqf land, not only Rajagopal's piece. Everyone in the hamlet was left baffled.
This episode in Thiruchenthurai in 2022 wasn't unique; Waqf property was also claimed in 18 other surrounding villages. There are 9.4 lakh acres, or around 3,804 square kilometers, of Waqf land in India. The donation of just two villages marked the beginning of the process that transformed a vast area of land that is currently regarded as Waqf property.
According to several analysts, the Waqf Boards as a group rank third in terms of property ownership in india, behind the indian Railways and the indian military.
All of this started in Punjab's Multan, which was a part of undivided india, at the end of the 12th century, and it prospered with sultans ruling over Hindustan and sitting on the throne in Delhi.
WHAT IS WAQF AND THE LATEST DEBATE OVER WAQF BILL? Waqf, which translates to "to hold, tie up, or detain," has its roots in Islamic charitable ideals. Waqf refers to a permanent endowment in which Allah is the sole owner of property set aside for community, charitable, or religious reasons.
As a result, the Waqf properties are unchangeable and cannot be sold or transferred. This implies that property cannot be retrieved after it has been surrendered to Allah.
The BJP-led Center's Waqf Amendment Bill has caused confusion and tense discussions during the current Winter Session of Parliament. The Joint Parliamentary Committee is now deliberating the Bill, which seeks to improve the administration and control of Waqf lands throughout India.
According to india Herald's sources, the Waqf Bill might now be presented at the february 2025 Budget Session.
In light of these talks and controversies surrounding the Waqf Amendment Bill, it's instructive to consider how Afghan conqueror Muhammad Ghori introduced the idea of Waqf to India.
THE gift OF TWO VILLAGES AND THE BIRTH OF WAQF IN INDIA Delhi and a large portion of northern and northwest india came under the control of Muhammad Ghori when he overthrew the Rajput monarch prithviraj Chauhan in 1192 and the Ismaili ruler of Multan in 1175, the first Islamic conquest.
Following his conquest of Punjab, Ghurid dynasty invader Muhammad Ghori made the first Waqf contribution ever documented in 1185.
Furthermore, Islamic authority in india began in 1192 when Ghori defeated prithviraj Chauhan in the Second Battle of Tarain. His slaves established the Slave Dynasty and ruled his realm after he died in 1206. The system was institutionalized by those Muslim kings and the sultans who succeeded them in holding the throne of Delhi.
According to Insha-i-Mahru, a Persian book by Aynul Mulk Multani, sultan Muizuddin Sam, also known as Muhammad Ghori, gave two villages to the Jama Masjid of Multan and tasked the Shaikh-al-Islam, a title bestowed upon a notable religious figure, with managing them.
Hundreds of letters and excerpts of those letters that were utilized for official correspondence at the time are included in Multani's book.
According to letter number 16, the main functions of the early Waqfs were philanthropic and religious. According to historian vipul Singh's Interpreting Medieval india, they backed mosques, madrasas, dargahs, and other community welfare organizations.
GROWTH OF WAQF UNDER THE delhi SULTANATE The idea spread, and under the delhi Sultanate, land was turned into Waqf property.
Scholar Amir Afaque Ahmad Faizi says that some of the oldest Waqf properties in india include the Ganj-i-Shahidan in Asiwan, Unao, the Qabristan on Bilsi Road in Badaun, the grave of Miran Mulhim in Badaun, the tomb of Khawja Majd al-Din in Bilgram, and the dargah of Lal Pir in Azmat Tola at Gopaman.
"As the delhi Sultanate and later Islamic dynasties flourished in india, the number of Waqf properties kept increasing in india," the Ministry of Minority Affairs stated in a september explanation on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024.
The practice gained traction during the delhi Sultanate era when succeeding sultans like Muhammad bin Tughlaq and Iltutmish created new Waqfs in addition to preserving those that already existed.
The Diwan-i-Wizarat, or prime ministers, were tasked with supervising Waqf, demonstrating the importance of Waqf management and its pivotal position in the political and economic affairs of the delhi Sultanate. According to historian vipul Singh, he had direct access to the sultan, demonstrating the significance of Waqf property management.
A study by the government of India's Capacity Building Commission said that the maintenance of Waqf properties was assigned to the office of Diwan-i-Rasalat, which was in charge of judicial and religious administration.
Roads, sarais, madarsas, hauz (reservoirs), and other public facilities were built and maintained with the help of Waqf profits. Two notable instances are the Waqf for the maintenance of sultan Qutbuddin's mausoleum in Lahore and the Shamsi Masjid in Badayun, which was built during the Iltutmish era.
"It is a custom among kings, while they are on the throne, to appropriate villages and lands to religious men in order to provide means for the maintenance and repair of their tombs," said Ziauddin Barani in Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, the history of Firoz Shah Tuhglaq, written in the 14th century.
Despite being decentralized, Waqf administration was extremely well-organized during the Middle Ages.
Daily operations were overseen by local trustees, or mutawallis, while authorities such as the Sadr us Sudur and Kadis made sure that Islamic law was followed. Scholar Amir Afaque Ahmad Faizi has observed that although rulers respected the sovereignty of Waqfs, they occasionally stepped in to dismiss dishonest trustees or return mismanaged estates.
For example, after the new trustees ignored the Waqfs, sultan Alauddin Khilji reinstated the former trustees and started reforms to bring them back to life. During the 13th century, Khilji was in power.
Waqf has expanded to manage a variety of assets and is now one of India's biggest landholding companies. From the two villages that invader Ghori claimed were Waqf to its systematic growth under the delhi Sultanate's sultans, Waqf Boards now manage around 8,7 lakh properties on over 9,4 lakh acres of land.
With the amending bill, the BJP-led central government hopes to address the enormous authority of the Waqf boards as well as the issues that arise from them. The origins of the Waqf idea may be traced back to the 12th century, when the conqueror Muhammad Ghori gave two villages as a gift.
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