Amendments To Waqf Act Can Further Marginalise Muslims: PDP’s Para
Srinagar- PDP leader Waheed Para on Thursday said the amendments to the Waqf Act are an assault on the Muslims of the country which can further marginalise the minority community.
Para, an MLA from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, alleged in a post on X that Muslims in India were already among the most marginalised communities. Muslims are lynched on the streets, their homes and businesses are bulldozed and their leaders are subjected to jail without bail.
“Now, the BJP’s latest amendments to the Waqf Act signal yet another step in this relentless assault, this time targeting the very foundation of Muslim religious and charitable institutions. Under the definition of reform, these changes are an attempt to seize control of Waqf properties, further marginalising Muslims and tightening the government’s grip over their assets,” Para said.
He said the effect of the amendments would be damaging to Jammu and Kashmir.
“This attack is particularly damaging in Jammu and Kashmir, where the wounds of abrogating Article 370 and 35A and the state’s bifurcation are fresh.
“The Muslim leadership from Kashmir made it clear to the JPC (joint parliamentary committee) that the community overwhelmingly rejects these amendments. Yet, their concerns were disregarded, exposing the BJP’s deep-seated contempt for democratic consensus,” he added.
The PDP youth president said a law passed against the explicit will of the people, “designed to undermine their institutions and way of life, is not governance — it is control”.
He alleged that the most dangerous amendment eliminates waqf, effectively paving the way for mass land grabs.
“The BJP seeks to erase the protection of mosques, graveyards, madrassas and other religious properties, allowing bureaucrats to declare any such property non-waqf and making them available for forcible takeover,” he added.
Para said the government is simultaneously stripping the Muslim community of control over its institutions.
“The bill imposes non-Muslim members onto the waqf boards and shifts decision-making power from independent authorities to state-appointed bureaucrats, ensuring complete political control. Hindu religious trusts, Sikh gurdwara committees and Christian institutions continue to function without such interference. This targeting of waqf alone is nothing but another BJP scheme to weaken Muslim self-governance,” he said.
Para said this bill is not about transparency or efficiency.
“It is about control, subjugation and ensuring that Muslims no longer have even their religious endowments to fall back on. In Jammu and Kashmir and across India, the writing on the wall is clear: this is not just an attack on waqf, it is an attack on the rights of every Muslim,” he added. (PTI)
