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Watch: Lights out in Hyderabad against Waqf Amendment Act

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30th April, 2025 22:19 IST

Hyderabad: All India Majlis E Ittehad ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and several other residents and shop owners in Hyderabad switched off the lights of their homes and establishments to join the silent protest against the Waqf Amendment Act.

The pan-India protest launched by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on April 30 between 9-9:15 pm received major support from across the country.

As a mark of solidarity with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the Pahalgam terror attack, the AIMPLB had suspended its campaign against the “controversial amendments” to the Waqf Act for three days starting April 23.

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AIMPLB warned that with the Waqf Amendment Bill, Muslims could lose control over waqf properties, including mosques, dargahs, charitable institutions, and valuable lands. Earlier this month, the body held a protest and a public meeting in Darussalam, Hyderabad, to oppose the Waqf Amendment Act.

Visuals have surfaced from Old Delhi, Parbani in Maharashtra, and Bihar, among other Indian cities.

“As part of this campaign, various programmes are being organised across the country. So far, several large public meetings have been held in various cities, and roundtable meetings have been conducted with fellow citizens and civil society. At the district level, protests, demonstrations and human chain programmes have also taken place,” AIMPLB spokesperson SQR Ilyas said in a statement.

As a mark of solidarity with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the Pahalgam terror attack, the AIMPLB had suspended its campaign against the “controversial amendments” to the Waqf Act for three days starting April 23.

Ilyas said that while the “lights out” programme is symbolic in appearance, it will serve as a “powerful expression of protest by the country’s Muslims and all justice-loving people, united against these dark amendments”.

Waqf (Amendment) Act

The contentious Bill was approved by the Parliament and received the President’s assent on April 6. However, it has faced backlash from the Muslim population of the country, who assert that the bill infringes upon their rights.

Waqf is continuing charity, with land donated in the name of God for charitable purposes, Sadqa-e-Jaaria. Sadqa is Charity, and Jaaria is continuing.

Once land is made out for charitable purposes, and that, too, in the name of God, it can neither be alienated, nor its status altered by way of sale, gift or transfer. But the new Waqf Act facilitates the conversion of Waqf land into private or government property.

The Modi government enacted the new Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which comes as a huge surprise, as it aims to wrest control over the Waqf property across the country. The new law goes against the grain of the Indian Constitution. It militates against the Supreme Court’s pronouncement that once Waqf, always Waqf.

Under the Indian Constitution, the government cannot defray expenses for religious purposes, like running a mosque and Madrasa and the upkeep of graveyards. It is here that the Waqf property assumes significance, where the community steps in by contributing through the Waqf for religious and charitable purposes.

Besides, the Constitution, under Article 26, guarantees the Right to Freedom of Religion to every religious denomination or section to manage its affairs, including establishing institutions, managing religious affairs, owning property and administering it.

This very Constitutional right is being undermined and flagrantly violated in the provisions of the new Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. For instance, two non-Muslims are to be appointed to the Central Waqf Council, to the State Waqf Boards and to Waqf Tribunals. The requirement that the Waqf Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO) must be Muslim has been dispensed and done away with.

In comparison with the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Trust Board Resolution passed recently to terminate the services of all non-Hindu employees in the TTD.

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