India’s parliament passed a bill on Thursday to reform the immensely wealthy Muslim land-owning organizations, with the Hindu nationalist government stating it will enhance accountability, while the opposition labeled it an “attack” on a minority.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government argues that the bill will improve transparency within more than a dozen powerful Waqf boards, which oversee properties donated through Muslim charitable endowments.
Across India, there are approximately two dozen Waqf boards, controlling around 900,000 acres (365,000 hectares), a multi-billion-dollar property empire that positions them as one of the largest landowners alongside the railways and defense forces.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who introduced the bill on Wednesday, asserted that it would curb corruption and mismanagement and diminish the influence of a few entrenched groups.
The bill was passed by the lower house of parliament after an extended debate that continued into the early hours of Thursday.
It is anticipated that the bill will also be approved by the upper house of parliament later on Thursday, granting significantly greater powers to civil servants in the supervision of Waqf boards.
Amit Shah, the interior minister and a close Modi ally, stated that the changes will facilitate “catching the people who lease out properties” for personal gain.
“That money, which could be used to aid the development of minorities, is being stolen,” he said.
Shah clarified that non-Muslims, who will be included on the boards as part of the new bill, will only be involved in “administrative” matters.
However, opposition parties accuse the government of promoting “polarizing politics” at the expense of India’s 200 million Muslim minority.
Congress Party chief Rahul Gandhi stated, “The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a weapon aimed at marginalizing Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights.”
Gandhi characterized it as an “attack” by Hindu nationalists, which he alleged was “aimed at Muslims today but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future.”
Opposition parties perceive the bill as part of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) efforts to curry favor with its right-wing Hindu base.
Modi’s BJP has supported right-wing claims of mosques built over ancient Hindu temples and spearheaded efforts to construct a grand Hindu temple at the site of a demolished Mughal-era mosque in Ayodhya.
