Time and again, emotional appeals for street protests have been presented as the only recourse—akin to a one-size-fits-all remedy.

Last week, India’s Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill, a piece of legislation aimed at reforming the management of Islamic charitable endowments known as Waqf properties. This move has sparked significant unease among Muslim organizations, civil society groups, and opposition political parties in the country. Despite appeals to India’s President, Droupadi Murmu, to withhold her approval, the bill has now been enacted into law.

Prominent political figures, including Muslim parliamentarians such as Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad Muslimeen, Mohammed Jawed of the Indian National Congress, and Amanatullah Khan, a Delhi legislator and chairman of the local Waqf Board from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have filed legal challenges in India’s Supreme Court, questioning the bill’s alignment with the nation’s constitution.

In contrast, Sanjay Raut, a member of parliament from Shiv Sena (UBT)—a regional political party—has indicated his party’s decision not to oppose the legislation, suggesting a divergence of views even among the government’s critics.

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government defends the bill, asserting it is in the nation’s best interest. Key officials, including Kiren Rijiju, the Minister of Minority Affairs, and Amit Shah, the Minister of Home Affairs, have repeatedly emphasized that the law does not infringe on Muslim rights. Instead, they argue it seeks to improve the efficiency of Waqf Boards—bodies responsible for overseeing these endowments. The government has dismissed opposition claims that the bill undermines constitutional protections as baseless.

Nevertheless, a coalition of Muslim organizations, individuals, and opposition parties continues to argue that the legislation threatens the sanctity of mosques and graveyards managed under Waqf. Labeling it unconstitutional, these groups are mobilizing for nationwide protests, including large-scale sit-ins and street demonstrations, to demand the law’s repeal.

The Historical Context of Waqf Management

Before jumping to support calls for protests, it’s worth exploring the historical management of Waqf properties—endowments established under Islamic law for charitable purposes—since India’s independence in 1947. This moment of controversy offers a chance to reflect on how these assets, meant to serve religious and social welfare, have been handled over decades.

A 2011 report by the Sachar Committee, a government-appointed panel studying the socio-economic conditions of Indian Muslims, alongside data from the Central Waqf Council, revealed that over 50% of Waqf land in India is either encroached upon or tangled in legal disputes—a striking indicator of systemic mismanagement across regions and political regimes.

In Telangana, a southern Indian state never governed by the BJP, approximately 75% of Waqf land is reportedly encroached upon, with the figure rising to 82% in its capital, Hyderabad. This underscores that the problem transcends any single political party or central policy. These statistics challenge the narrative that the current uproar is solely a result of the national government’s actions and prompt scrutiny of the role local Waqf Boards and regional leaders played in allowing such widespread losses to occur.

The Gap Between Rhetoric and Results

For decades, the administration of Waqf properties—intended to fund education, healthcare, and welfare initiatives—has failed to deliver on its charitable promise. Despite controlling vast assets, the benefits to India’s Muslim community remain limited. This raises pressing questions about who has truly profited from Waqf properties since India’s independence, who bears responsibility for the encroachments, mismanagement, and misuse of these lands, and how many schools, hospitals, or welfare centers have been established using Waqf resources.

Furthermore, what actions were taken against those who exploited these endowments, and in what measurable ways has Waqf contributed to the economic advancement of Muslims? Calls for accountability and reform in Waqf management should have surfaced long ago. Instead, the same organizations now rallying for protests—many of which oversaw this decline—are accused of stirring emotions for political leverage.

Critics argue these self-proclaimed “guardians” of the Muslim community have historically mismanaged Waqf resources, often prioritizing personal or political gain over communal welfare.

The Myth of Wake-Up Calls

Much has been said about “wake-up calls” to galvanize India’s Muslim community. Yet, the reality suggests that community leaders and Waqf custodians were never dormant—they were simply focused elsewhere.

Many Waqf properties have been illegally occupied, with rents kept artificially low, allowing beneficiaries to exploit them for decades without oversight or adjustment. This pattern of neglect raises doubts about the sincerity of those now decrying the new law.

The Pattern of Response to Legislation

A recurring trend emerges in how certain groups react to laws perceived to affect Muslim interests in India. When the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) were introduced—policies aimed at streamlining citizenship processes—similar fears were ignited, with claims that Muslims would be stripped of citizenship. Years after the CAA’s implementation, no widespread evidence of such disenfranchisement has emerged.

This history prompts questions about the opposition to the Waqf Amendment Bill: Are objections rooted in genuine threats to religious rights, or do they reflect an automatic resistance that ultimately serves political agendas rather than community well-being?

The Human Cost of Protest Without Protection

Time and again, emotional appeals for street protests have been presented as the only recourse—akin to a one-size-fits-all remedy.

During the CAA-NRC protests, fears of mass citizenship loss fueled widespread unrest. Yet, as Minister Kiren Rijiju noted during the Waqf bill debates, no Muslims have lost citizenship under CAA. Still, the fallout from such movements lingers: young Muslims arrested during protests against CAA, NRC, and earlier laws like the Triple Talaq ban often remain in jail, lacking legal or financial support from the groups that spurred them into action.

In Muzaffarnagar, a city in northern India, 24 Muslim youths faced legal notices simply for wearing black armbands as a symbolic dissent—not even a full protest—each required to post a ₹2 lakh (approximately $2,400 USD) bond. In Ahmedabad, a western Indian city, around 40 people were detained during demonstrations.

These cases highlight the risks to ordinary citizens when protests lack strategic planning, legal backing, or institutional support.

Before heeding new calls to protest, communities deserve to know whether organizers have secured proper permissions from authorities, are prepared to provide legal aid to those arrested, have a legal team in place, will accept responsibility for the outcomes, and will support the families of detainees financially and emotionally.

The Path Forward: Reform and Accountability

The current Waqf management system demands overhaul. Transparency, accountability, and effectiveness must take precedence over political maneuvering. Rather than blanket opposition, India’s Muslim community could benefit from demanding targeted amendments to problematic clauses in the bill instead of outright rejection, proposing governance models that balance religious autonomy with accountability, establishing independent oversight to track how Waqf resources serve the community, creating forums for community input into Waqf decisions, and developing long-term plans to leverage Waqf assets for education, healthcare, and economic growth.

From Reaction to Responsible Engagement

India’s Muslim community faces a pivotal choice. The current approach lacks strategy, unified leadership, negotiation, or internal reform—just a repetitive cycle of politicization until issues reach the courts. Continuing this pattern of protest and division is an option, but so is redirecting energy toward ensuring Waqf properties fulfill their charitable mission. The community must resist further manipulation.

For decades, Waqf assets have been plundered while leaders stood by. Now, as the government pushes for accountability, some of these same figures are accused of misleading the public once more.

True leadership goes beyond rallying crowds—it requires vision, strategy, and responsibility. By advocating for reforms that bring transparency and efficiency to Waqf management, the community can ensure these resources uplift its most vulnerable members and build enduring institutions for future generations.

The challenge is not merely whether to oppose a law, but how to ensure the sacred trust of Waqf serves its intended purpose: benefiting the community it was created to support.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Milli Chronicle’s point-of-view.

The report made by a 10-member fact-finding team appointed by the commission also stated that the violence started immediately after a speech by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra, in which he openly called for forcefully removing the anti-CAA protesters at Jafrabad. But the police failed to take the “first and foremost immediate preventive step” needed to avoid violence by arresting him.

Delhi Police did not respond to the committee’s notices, the report accused.

The committee which was set up in March to look into the cause of the riots that shook India’s capital between February 23 and 27, 2020. The committee made efforts to invite the riot-victims to come forward with the information, and it documented individual victim testimonies at various sites of north-east Delhi, then they did physical surveys of the damaged religious sites. The committee sought information from the Delhi Police, but it did not get any response.

Between December 2019 and February 2020, there were a number of speeches by BJP leaders for Delhi assembly elections. But the speeches were directed at inciting the people to violence against anti-CAA protestors.

The report has explicitly recorded the hate-speeches in detail.

Violence broke out in difference pockets immediately after a short and instigating speech by BJP’s Kapil Mishra on February 23, 2020 at a place called Maujpur. He openly called for forcefully removing the anti-CAA protestors at Jafrabad in north-east Delhi. Report stated that, the threats to the protestors and people, were given in the presence of Deputy Commissioner of Police.

The report further stated that, different groups and mobs quickly fanned out to local areas of north-east Delhi after Mishra’s speech carrying weapons and arms like petrol bombs, iron rods, gas cylinders, stones and firearms, which resulted in the death of over 55 people between February 23 and 26.

“Despite the open display of weapons and firearms, sufficient actions were not taken by the district administration or police to protect life and property,” the report by the ten-member committee headed by senior Supreme Court lawyer M.R. Shamshad said.

According to the report, 11 mosques, five Islamic schools – madrasas, one shrine and one graveyard were attacked and damaged. Mobs vandalized and burnt only Muslim places of worship, namely mosques and madrasas as well as religious symbols like copies of Holy Quran. However, non-Muslim places of worship like temples in the Muslim majority areas were absolutely untouched.

The report quoted testimonies and said that police did not act even after the violence unfolded. They even refused to intervene when approached, and said that they do not have orders to do so. “This suggests that the failure to prevent violence was not due to individual or sporadic breaches, but was a pattern of deliberate inaction over several days”, report said.

The report accused the Delhi police of not enforcing prohibitory orders, and not exercising powers to disperse unlawful assemblies or to take measure to apprehend, arrest and detain those perpetrating violence.

Report stated, “Police were also complicit and abetted attacks. Where police did act, victims state that police stopped their colleagues when they attempted to disperse the crowd (do not stop them). In some cases, they merely stood as onlookers while the mobs engaged in violence. In others, they explicitly gave a go-ahead to the perpetrators to continue with rampage (do what you want)”.

It also stated that the Muslim women faced attacks on the basis of religion, and their hijabs and burqas were pulled off.

Report accused Police of sexually harassing women. “While the slogans of ‘Azadi’ (a cry for freedom from the discriminatory laws and practices) were used by the protesters, the police used the same chants of ‘Azadi’ to sexually harass women and attack them, including at least one incident of a police officer flashing his genitals in front of women protesters”, it said.

I don’t think I can ever feel completely safe, either in the girls’ hostel or on campus

Bengaluru (Reuters) – One of India’s most famous universities is half-empty and some students who are on campus track each other on mobile devices to ensure people are safe, as violent clashes spill on to campuses that are seen as a hotbed of anti-government protests.

The country has been rocked by demonstrations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new citizenship law that some say discriminates against Muslims. At least 25 people have died and thousands of people have been arrested.

Many of the most visible and persistent protests have been in and around universities, and some students now fear for their safety following clashes with police and unidentified mobs in recent weeks.

“I don’t think I can ever feel completely safe, either in the girls’ hostel or on campus,” said Nayla Khwaja, a student at New Delhi’s renowned Jamia Millia Islamia university.

Last month police smashed their way into the institution, firing tear gas shells as scores of terrified students barricaded doors and hid inside bathrooms.

Weeks on from the violence, large parts of the college remain deserted, with some parents refusing to allow students who flock to the university from all parts of India to return.

Less than half of the 20,000-strong student population is back on campus for the new semester, according to college chief proctor Waseem Ahmad Khan.

Beyond the capital, protests have also erupted in colleges in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai.

In some cases they have spilled into nearby town squares, with citizens holding Indian flags and demanding the revocation of the law in the most sustained opposition to Modi since he first swept to power in 2014.

Students say they are concerned about further attacks which they blame on right-wing groups tied to the ruling Hindu nationalists.

“There is an environment of fear that was never seen before,” said Saheb Samanta, a PHD scholar in Kolkata’s Jadavpur University.

Students have taken to sharing live locations on WhatsApp with friends when attending a protest or going to class so they know who is where, a dozen students enrolled in universities in Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata told Reuters.

“We are keeping some basic checks in place. Letting friends know where we are and also sometimes walking in groups within campus. This really wasn’t necessary before,” said a masters student at Jadavpur University.

Like others who described the extra precautions, she declined to give her name out of concern for her safety.