Empire of 9.4 lakh acres from 2 villages… History and legal disputes of Waqf in India, know everything

New Delhi: When the land of a farmer in Tamil Nadu turned out to be of the Waqf Board, a strong debate broke out in the country again on ‘Waqf Law’. This debate takes us to the 12th century, when Mohammad Ghori laid the foundation of Waqf in India. Today the Waqf Board has lakhs of acres of land, over which the Central Government wants to control by bringing a new law.

Rajagopal, a 70-year-old farmer from Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu, wanted to sell his/her 1.2-acre land for his/her daughter’s marriage. At the sub-registrar office, he/she was shown a 20-page document, in which it was written that his/her land belonged to the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board. Not only Rajagopal’s land, but his/her entire village Tiruchenthurai, which houses the 1500-year-old Sundareswarar temple, was declared Waqf land. All the villagers were surprised.

18 more villages were also declared Waqf property

This incident was not an isolated incident, 18 more nearby villages were also declared as Waqf property. A total of 9.4 lakh acres of Waqf land in India is equivalent to approximately 3,804 square kilometres. The Waqf property started with the donation of just two villages. Many experts believe that the Waqf Board is the third largest landowner in India, after the Indian Railways and the Indian Army. It originated in Multan in Punjab, undivided India, in the late 12th century, and spread during the reign of the Sultans who ruled Delhi.

Understand the meaning of Waqf

Waqf is based on the principles of Islamic charity. Waqf means a permanent endowment, where property is set aside for religious, philanthropic, or community purposes, with ownership transferred to Allah. It cannot be sold or transferred. That is, once property is surrendered to Allah, it cannot be taken back.

Debate on Waqf Amendment Bill

There was uproar and heated debate over the Waqf Amendment Bill introduced by the BJP-led central government in the ongoing winter session of Parliament. The bill, which aims to reform the management and regulation of Waqf properties across India, is currently before the Joint Parliamentary Committee for consideration. According to India Today sources, the Waqf Bill can now be introduced during the budget session in February 2025.

What is the history of Waqf?

Amidst the ongoing discussions and debates on the Waqf Amendment Bill, it is interesting to know how the concept of Waqf came to India with the Afghan invader Mohammad Ghauri. Mohammad Ghori defeated the Ismaili ruler of Multan in 1175. After that, with the defeat of Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan in 1192, Delhi and a large part of North India came under his/her rule. The first recorded waqf donation was made in 1185 after Ghori established his/her rule in Punjab. Not only this, Ghori’s victory against Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain in 1192 marked the beginning of Islamic rule in India. After his/her death in 1206, his/her slaves took over the reins of his/her kingdom and established the Slave Dynasty. Those Muslim rulers and later the Sultans who ascended the throne of Delhi institutionalized this system.

What was the purpose?

According to Aynul Mulk Multani’s Persian book Insha-e-Mahru, Sultan Muizzuddin Sam, also known as Mohammad Ghori, gifted two villages to the Jama Masjid of Multan and entrusted their management to Shaykh-al-Islam. Assigned to, which was a title given to a prominent religious leader. Multani’s book is a collection of hundreds of letters and their samples used in official correspondence of that period. According to historian Vipul Singh’s book ‘Interpreting Medieval India’, letter number 16 states that the early waqfs mainly served religious and charitable purposes. They supported mosques, madrassas, dargahs and other community welfare institutions.

wealth gradually increased

The concept of Waqf grew under the Delhi Sultanate and land became Waqf property. According to scholar Amir Afaq Ahmed Faizi, the tomb of Miran Mulhim in Badaun, the tomb of Khwaja Majd al-Din in Bilgram, the Dargah of Lal Pir in Ajmat Tola of Gopaman, the cemetery on Bilsi Road in Badaun and the Ganj-e-Ganj in Asiwan in Unnao. Shahidan is an example of some of the earliest waqf properties in India. According to a lecturer on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 released by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in September, ‘As the Delhi Sultanate and later Islamic dynasties flourished in India, the number of Waqf properties in India increased.’

Who had the maintenance of Waqf properties?

During the Delhi Sultanate, this practice gained momentum as subsequent sultans like Iltutmish and Mohammad bin Tughlaq not only preserved the existing waqfs but also established new ones. The management of waqfs was important and played an important role in the political and financial affairs of the Delhi Sultanate, as evidenced by the fact that Diwan-i-Wizarat, or prime ministers, were entrusted with their supervision. Historian Vipul Singh writes that the people who managed the waqf properties had direct access to the Sultan, reflecting their importance. According to a report by the Capacity Building Commission, Government of India, the office of Diwan-i-Rasalat, responsible for judicial and religious administration, was also entrusted with the maintenance of waqf properties.

Use of Waqf income for social work

The income from waqf helped in the construction and maintenance of public facilities like hauz (reservoirs), madrassas, roads and inns. Prominent examples include the Shamsi Mosque in Badaun, which was constructed during the reign of Iltutmish, and the Waqf for the maintenance of the tomb of Sultan Qutbuddin in Lahore. The 14th century scholar Ziauddin Barani writes in Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, ‘It is a custom among kings, when they are on the throne, to grant villages and lands to religious people for the maintenance and repair of their tombs. Means can be made available for this.

Struggle over management of Waqf

Although the administration of waqf was decentralized in the medieval period, it was highly organized. Local trustees, known as mutawallis, managed day-to-day operations, while officials such as the Sadr-us-Sudur and Qazi ensured compliance with Islamic law. According to scholar Amir Afaq Ahmed Faizi, rulers, while respecting the autonomy of the waqf, sometimes intervened to restore mismanaged properties or replace corrupt trustees. For example, Sultan Alauddin Khilji re-appointed the original trustees after the new trustees had neglected the waqf, and initiated reforms to revive their operations. Khilji ruled in the 13th century.

Babar’s rule and waqf

After the fall of the Lodhi rulers of Delhi in the Battle of Panipat, the reins of power came into the hands of Babur, who came from the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan and established the Mughal Empire in India. Under the Mughals, the institution of waqf further flourished, with emperors such as Akbar and Shah Jahan endowing important properties. Akbar’s Farangi Mahal in Lucknow and Shahjahan’s Taj Mahal are notable examples of this. Revealing the scale and importance of waqf during the medieval period, scholar Amir Afaq Ahmed Faizi writes that the construction of the Taj Mahal on behalf of Shah Jahan in the 17th century was aided by donations from about 30 villages and one pargana (province), Who were given endowment.

How did Waqf property expand?

Over time, as Muslim communities settled in rural areas, the concept of Waqf expanded into rural India. This expansion also coincided with the conversion to Islam of many people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Having evolved under various Muslim dynasties, great and small, the Waqf system gained a more formal structure during British rule with the introduction of the Muslim Waqf Act of 1923. After independence, it was replaced by the Waqf Act of 1954, which was later updated in 1995 and 2013 to strengthen the powers of the Waqf Board, making them key players in land management.

lakhs of property under waqf care

This brings us to the 21st century. Waqf has become one of the largest landholding institutions in India, managing a wide variety of properties. From the two villages given to Waqf by the invader Ghori to its organized expansion under the Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate, today, Waqf boards oversee more than 8.7 lakh properties covering about 9.4 lakh acres of land. These vast powers of the Waqf boards and the challenges arising from them are what the BJP-led central government is seeking to address with the amendment bill. It is interesting to note that the entire Waqf concept was introduced in the 12th century by an invader Mohammed Ghori, who gifted two villages.