The Narendra Modi-led government is introducing the Waqf Amendment Law to reclaim government land that has been designated as Waqf property. This marks a stark contrast to the policy adopted by the Indira Gandhi administration in 1976, which had directed states to vacate and restore such properties to Waqf Boards.
A review of official records, including a letter written by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on March 26, 1976, reveals that she had urged six chief ministers and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi to act swiftly on this matter. The letter, available on the official website of Waqf under the National WAMSI Project, emphasized the need for immediate administrative action.
Indira Gandhi’s 1976 Directive
“For a variety of reasons, including unsettled conditions after partition, a large number of wakf properties have gone into the adverse possession of private parties as well as State Government departments and local bodies. The Wakf Board could well start legal proceedings against the concerned State Government departments. Obviously, such litigation would not be desirable. Hence you should settle the issue on an administrative basis,” Gandhi wrote.
She highlighted that the Congress had been advocating a resolution since 1961 and proposed three concrete steps for settling disputes over Waqf properties:
Restoration of Waqf Properties – “Where feasible, the Wakf properties should be vacated and handed over to the Wakf Board concerned.”
Permanent Lease Agreements – “Where costly buildings have been put up on the land and their vacation is not feasible, the State Government may enter into permanent leases with the Wakf Boards, after paying to the Boards the bulk of the market value as premium.”
Fair Market Compensation – “In the alternative, the State Governments may arrange to make over the fair market value of the lands to the Boards, which will relinquish their rights over the land, if in their direct management, or obtain from the Mutawallis concerned with their consent, the necessary deeds of relinquishment.”
Gandhi further noted that Waqf Boards had already submitted lists of such properties under government possession and instructed state leaders to resolve the issue accordingly. She also mandated a periodic review and a monthly report to be sent to her office and the Minister of Waqfs.
Rented Waqf Properties and Rent Control Exemptions
The letter also addressed concerns regarding Waqf properties leased at nominal rents due to existing Rent Control Acts.
“In its Interim Report, the Wakf Inquiry Committee has suggested that all public wakfs serving a religious or charitable purpose or for that matter all public trust and endowments belonging to any community, should be exempted from the provisions of the Rent Control Acts,” Gandhi wrote.
She further noted that states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu had already implemented exemptions for public Waqf properties and urged other states to follow suit.
The letter was addressed to Punjab Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh, Haryana CM B.D. Gupta, Himachal Pradesh CM Y.S. Parmar, Maharashtra CM S.B. Chavan, Madhya Pradesh CM S.C. Shukla, Rajasthan CM Harideo Joshi, and Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Krishan Chand.
As the Modi government moves forward with the Waqf Amendment Law, this policy shift is likely to reignite debates over historical land allocations and their legal and political implications.
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