WATCH | Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025: All You Need to Know - video Dailymotion

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#DeepDiveWithOutlook | For many Muslims, Waqf properties are not just pieces of land—they are community lifelines: mosques, madrasas, dargahs, qabristans. But they’re often mismanaged, encroached upon, or stuck in litigation. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 claims to fix that.  But critics argue it opens the door to greater state control, especially over undocumented or century-old shrines and graveyards. The inclusion of non-Muslim members in Waqf Boards has also sparked concerns about interference in religious institutions.  Watch the full Deep Dive to know more.  Follow us: Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/ X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia  #WaqfAmendmentBill #Waqf #WaqfBoard #Law #Parliament #RajyaSabha #LokSabha #Politics #News #India #SupremeCourt #SC #OutlookMagazine  #OutlookExplainer

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00:00From India's grandest monuments to your neighborhood mosque or Kabristan, chances are you're standing on Waqf land.

00:07But who owns this land and why did the parliament battle over it for 17 hours straight on two consecutive days?

00:15Welcome to Deep Dive with Outlook. Today, we break down the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025.

00:21In Islamic tradition, Waqf refers to a permanent dedication of property, land, building or even cash

00:27for religious or charitable causes. Once designated as Waqf, the ownership is believed to transfer to God.

00:35The person creating the Waqf is called a Waqif and the caretaker a Mutawalli.

00:40In India, the scale is staggering. Government data shows Waqf boards control 8.7 lakh properties

00:48spanning 9.4 lakh acres valued at around 1.2 lakh crore. That makes the Waqf board India's third

00:56largest landowner after the armed forces and the railways. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number

01:02of Waqf properties, 27% of the national total. Other states with significant Waqf assets include

01:10West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. And these are in obscure lands. The Jama Masjid,

01:17Bada, Imam Bara, Salim Chishti's tomb, all are Waqf properties.

01:22Even the Ambani residence Antilia is alleged to be built on Waqf land. But Waqf in India has

01:29always existed in a legal grey zone. Back in British India, the Privy Council called Waqf

01:35a perpetuity of the worst kind. But India chose a different path. The Musa Iman Waqf Validating

01:42Act of 1913 safeguarded Waqf's legal existence. Post-independence, the Waqf Act of 1954 created

01:51state boards and a central Waqf council in 1964. This was overhauled in 1995, giving statutory powers

01:59to the Waqf tribunal, detailing Mutawali duties and governing how land is managed. Still,

02:07loopholes remained, ranging from poor land records, misuse of power, encroachment to unaccounted

02:14donations. And then came the 2025 amendment bill. On April 3rd, the Waqf amendment bill 2025 was passed

02:23in Rajya Sabha with 128 votes to 95. Lok Sabha passed it earlier with 288 votes to 232 after intense

02:32debates. But just hours later, AIMIM's Asad Doudin Awaisi and Congress MP Mohammad Javed moved to the

02:41Supreme Court, calling the bill unconstitutional. However, on April 6th, the bill officially became

02:48a law after it got the assent of President Draupadi Murmu. So what's in this bill, now law, that's

02:55making headlines. It removes the Waqf by User Clause, which allowed religious land claims based on long

03:02time usage, even without documentation. It curtails arbitrary claims by scrapping Section 40, ending

03:10Waqf Board's powers to declare land as Waqf unilaterally. Earlier under Section 40, Waqf Boards could unilaterally

03:18declare any land as Waqf if they believed it was used for religious purposes, even without solid

03:25documentation. Earlier, a district collector could survey Waqf land. Now, only government officers above

03:33the collector's rank can inspect cases where the Waqf Board and the government both claim ownership.

03:40Inheritance rights for women must be secured before Waqf dedications. Special provisions are added for

03:47widows, divorcees and orphans. Mutawalis must register all property details on a central portal within six

03:56months. The mandatory contribution from Waqf institutions to boards is reduced from 7% to 5%.

04:04And most controversially, it proposes two non-Muslim members in every Waqf Board, both central and

04:11state level. Home Minister Amit Shah defended the bill.

04:32Union Minister Kiran Rijiju went a step further, claiming that

04:37that. But the opposition isn't happy. Malik Arjun Khargay called the bill a wailed land grab.

04:54Asa hi, ab Waqf board ke properties ko jama karke, iska ek land bank bana ke, kya kis bade ne

05:03businessmen ko deyte, corporate ko deyte, mujhe malum nahi.

05:07For many Muslims, Waqf properties are not just pieces of land, they are community lifelines. Mosques,

05:15madrasas, targahs, kabristans. But they're often mismanaged, encroached upon or stuck in litigation. The new bill

05:23claims to fix that. But critics argue it opens the door to greater state control, especially over

05:30undocumented or century-old shrines and graveyards. The inclusion of non-Muslim members in Waqf boards

05:37has also sparked concerns about interference in religious institutions. As the Waqf amendment

05:44becomes law, all eyes now turn to the Supreme Court. Will this be remembered as a long overdue reform,

05:51or as the state stepping onto secret ground? Stay tuned with Outlook for more such explainers.

WATCH | Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025: All You Need to Know

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