Experts say the BJP government's acquisition of 'waqf' land for a Hindu temple in Ujjain reflects a broader trend.
In January this year, authorities in Ujjain, a city in Madhya Pradesh, India, demolished nearly 250 structures, including homes, shops, and a century-old mosque, to clear 2.1 hectares (5.27 acres) of land. The land in question was owned by the Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board, which manages properties donated by Muslims for religious or charitable purposes. These waqf properties, as per Islamic tradition, are irrevocably transferred for the benefit of God and cannot be sold or repurposed.
However, the land in Ujjain was cleared for the Mahakal Corridor project, a $1 billion initiative surrounding the Mahakaleshwar Temple. India, with its population of over 200 million Muslims, holds the largest number of waqf properties globally, totaling more than 872,000 assets spread across nearly 405,000 hectares (1 million acres), valued at around $14.22 billion. The waqf boards in each state and territory oversee these properties, making them the largest urban landowners and the third-largest landowners overall, after the military and the railways.
The Indian parliament is expected to debate amendments to the Waqf Act, a law that has governed these boards for decades. The amendment, proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), could grant the government more control over waqf properties. Muslim groups argue that the ruling party is using its political power to further marginalize the Muslim community. Meanwhile, activists and lawyers point to the Ujjain incident as an example of broader issues with waqf property management, including years of mismanagement and encroachments, which the proposed changes to the law might exacerbate.
Madhya Pradesh, India's second-largest state by area, has been largely governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the past 22 years, with a brief exception from December 2018 to March 2020 when the centrist Congress party held power before losing its majority in the state assembly.
Since Mohan Yadav, a BJP politician from Ujjain, became the state’s chief minister in December 2023, he has been preparing for the Kumbh Mela of 2028, a major Hindu pilgrimage held every 12 years on the banks of Ujjain’s Shipra River. The demolition of waqf properties near the Mahakaleshwar Temple is widely seen as part of the government's efforts to acquire land for the Kumbh pilgrimage, which is expected to attract millions of devotees.
Critics argue that the state authorities ignored a 1985 government document that identified the Ujjain area as a Muslim graveyard with a historic mosque capable of hosting 2,000 devotees. Over time, influential builders with political ties illegally sold plots there for residential development, leading to the creation of more than 250 permanent structures, which were demolished in January.
A government acquisition document, obtained by Al Jazeera, shows that in June 2023, a revenue officer in Ujjain objected to the state’s plan to take over the waqf land. The officer referenced a 1985 gazette notification proving the land was waqf property and suggested that a “No Objection Certificate” be obtained from the state waqf board before acquisition. However, the district administration issued an order a month later stating no permission was needed for land acquired for "social causes."
“This acquisition directly violates the Waqf Act,” said lawyer Sohail Khan, who has challenged the Ujjain land takeover in court.
Although the government paid 330 million rupees ($3.8 million) in compensation to those whose homes or shops were demolished, many in Ujjain questioned why the Waqf Board did not claim this amount, instead of those who allegedly occupied the land illegally.
When asked why he did not oppose the acquisition or claim compensation, Sanawar Patel, the chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board and a BJP leader in Ujjain, replied, “I would do what the party orders because I am here because of the party.” Patel mentioned that the Waqf Board had written to the district administration, asking not to disburse compensation to those occupying the land illegally but did not explain why he didn’t take legal action. He also admitted that more than 90% of waqf properties in the state have either been encroached upon or are involved in litigation.
Ashish Agarwal, a BJP spokesperson in Madhya Pradesh, claimed the state government acquired the land in Ujjain “based on its requirements and in compliance with the established laws,” and declined to comment further.
India’s waqf boards were established under the 1954 Waqf Act and have since been managed by Muslims with government support. Subsequent legislation in 1995 and 2013 expanded the powers of these boards and introduced waqf tribunals—special courts designed to resolve disputes over waqf properties.
However, late last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet approved the draft Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which proposes 14 changes to the existing law.
Among the most contentious amendments are provisions allowing non-Muslims to be appointed as waqf board members and requiring mandatory registration of all properties classified as waqf with the district administration.
“This is the beginning of the takeover of mosque and shrine lands. History will not forgive us,” said Sanjay Singh, a parliamentarian from the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He is one of 31 members of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) tasked with reviewing objections to the bill before it is debated in parliament this week.
Supreme Court lawyer Anas Tanwir told Al Jazeera that the Ujjain case is part of a larger national issue involving political interference and the deterioration of waqf lands.
“The management of waqf properties in India has long suffered from mismanagement and encroachments,” he said. “The proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, could potentially worsen these challenges.”
However, Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board Chairman Sanawar Patel defended the proposed amendments, arguing that they aim to address existing issues and correct long-standing inconsistencies in the system.
The proposed amendments to the Waqf Act have raised concerns about increasing government control over waqf properties. However, many Muslim community leaders and lawyers argue that these lands have already been widely encroached upon, even under the current law.
Experts point to a long history of deliberate dispossession, mismanagement, and corruption in the handling of waqf properties by the government. They highlight a systematic pattern where district revenue officials and other authorities have diverted waqf lands, and illegal occupation and conversion of these properties to private ownership have been widespread.
In many cases, waqf lands have been reclassified as non-waqf by the revenue department, which maintains land records and collects taxes. The Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board has conducted surveys in the 1960s and 1980s, identifying over 23,000 properties under its control. In recent years, it has digitized and geotagged these records for easier identification.
However, experts argue that the revenue department’s land records are outdated, often based on pre-independence surveys. Despite the 1954 Waqf Act requiring the department to update its records according to waqf board surveys, this has not been done. For example, Ujjain had 1,014 waqf properties listed in the 1985 gazette, but none of these are recognized as waqf assets in the revenue department’s records.
According to a public interest litigation filed by Ujjain-based lawyer Aashar Warsi in December, out of the 1,014 properties, 368 are listed as government-owned, 454 as private, and the remaining 192 have incomplete or missing records.
The digitization of land records, which began in the late 2000s, has exacerbated the issue. Since the software only has two categories—government and private—many lands identified as waqf properties have been wrongly classified as government-owned.
“This has led to absurd situations, like Bhopal’s historic Moti Mosque, built in 1857, being registered as government property,” said Masood Khan, a member of a group advocating for the restoration of waqf lands. Khan has filed a complaint with the waqf tribunal, requesting that the revenue department correct its records regarding the mosque.
When Al Jazeera inquired about the failure to update the records, Madhya Pradesh’s Revenue Minister Karan Singh Verma’s office responded, stating that it was a longstanding issue and that they would investigate the matter.
Ujjain’s Nizamuddin colony, built on waqf land, was partially demolished during a government drive in January [Kashif Kakvi/Al Jazeera]
“With growing population, the values of lands are skyrocketing. Since waqf boards own massive properties on prime places across India, the government, by using the latest amendment, wants to get control over these lands in one go,” lawyer Pracha told Al Jazeera.
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