[Marxistindia] Resolution adopted at the 24th Congress of CPI(M)

[news from the cpi(m)]

Resolution

 

Withdraw the Divisive and Unjust 'Waqf Amendment Act' Immediately

 

This 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemns the
passage of the 'Waqf Amendment Bill' by Parliament. This legislation is an
assault on the Constitution and the rights of minorities. The CPI(M) calls
upon all secular people and organisations of the country to protest against
this Act which will only increase communal polarization and damage the
secular fabric of the nation.

The earlier Waqf Act was a legal framework governing Waqf properties
(Islamic endowments) and ensuring their proper administration, protection
and utilization for religious and charitable purposes. It provided
guidelines for the regulation of Waqf properties, preventing their misuse
and unauthorized sale. 

The amended Act makes significant changes which will undermine the
foundational principles laid out in the earlier Act. Through this amendment
the BJP Government is pushing its Hindutva agenda, aiming to divide people.
It has been repeatedly claiming that the earlier Act has been used for
extensive land grab by Muslims. 

Despite Islamic injunctions prohibiting non-Muslims from managing Waqf
properties, the amended Act includes non-Muslims in Waqf Boards. This is an
attack on the Constitutional right of the Muslims to practice their
religion. 

By making it mandatory that only a Muslim who can prove that he/she has
followed the religion for at least five years, the amended Act is opening
the way for harassment of Muslims and can actually prevent them from
creating or contributing to Waqf properties. Many non-Muslims also
contribute to the building of Mosques etc. and this expression of
brotherhood and fraternity will no longer be possible under the amended Act.


By abolishing Section 40 of the Waqf Act, the Waqf Board will lose its
authority to determine the nature of Waqf properties. Waqf properties
primarily fall into four categories: Waqf by Deed (documented), Waqf by Oral
Declaration (verbally declared), Waqf by Use (established through prolonged
usage), and government-granted lands. Under the new amendments, the majority
of Waqf properties in the country-those declared orally or through
usage-will become vulnerable to government takeover.  

States with the largest Waqf holdings, such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala, will face targeted appropriation of
these assets through the proposed amendments.  

By transferring the authority to determine Waqf properties from the Survey
Commissioner to government-appointed revenue officials, the government aims
to seize places of worship, educational institutions, healthcare facilities,
and vocational centres, thereby consolidating control over Waqf assets.  

The new mandate requiring the registration of thousands of Waqf properties
historically established through long-term usage exposes the government's
covert agenda to confiscate them.  

By stripping the Waqf Tribunal of its powers, the Waqf Board itself will be
alienated from the community it serves.  

Through these amendments, the Central Government is advancing its agenda of
eradicating the rights of Muslims, mirroring the exclusionary intent of the
Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).  

To safeguard the secular and democratic fabric of the nation, all secular
and democratic-minded citizens must unite to demand the withdrawal of this
divisive Waqf Amendment Act.

 

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