A waqf, also called a ḥabs, or mortmain property, is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitable purposes with no intention of reclaiming the assets. A charitable trust may hold the donated assets. The person making such dedication is known as a waqif ('donor') who uses a mutawalli ('trustee') to manage the property in exchange for a share of the revenues it generates. A waqf allows the state to provide social services in accordance with Islamic law while contributing to the preservation of cultural and historical sites. Although the waqf system depended on several hadiths and presented elements similar to practices from pre-Islamic cultures, it seems that the specific full-fledged Islamic legal form of endowment called waqf dates from the 9th century AD.
Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India also has the third-largest number of Muslims in the world. The majority of India's Muslims are Sunni, with Shia making up around 15% of the Muslim population.
Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25–28 of the Constitution of India. Modern India came into existence in 1947 and the Indian constitution's preamble was amended in 1976, to explicitly declare India a secular state. Supreme Court of India ruled that India was already a secular state from the time it adopted its constitution, what actually was done through this amendment is to state explicitly what was earlier contained implicitly under article 25 to 28. Every citizen of India has a right to practice and promote their religion peacefully. However, there have been numerous instances of religious intolerance that resulted in riots and mob violences; notably, the 1984 Sikh Massacre in and around Delhi, 1990 Exile of Kashmiri Pandits (Brahmins) from Kashmir (Cashmere), the 1992–93 Bombay Riots in Mumbai (Bombay), the 2008 Anti-Christian riots in Odisha (Orissa) and other anti-Christian violence in India. Some perpetrators of the 1984 Sikh Massacre have not been brought to justice despite widespread condemnation.
Kalbe Jawad is a Shia Muslim cleric from Lucknow, India.
K. Rahman Khan is a Veteran Politician belonging to the Indian National Congress and a former Union Minister of Minority Affairs and also Ex-Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
The Lokayukta is an Indian Parliamentary Ombudsman which may be appointed for each of the State Governments of India. It is brought into effect in a state after passing the Lokayukta Act in the respective state legislature, and a person of reputable background is nominated for the post. The post was created to quickly address the working of the government or its administration. Once appointed, Lokayukta cannot be dismissed or transferred by the government, and can only be removed by passing an impeachment motion by the state assembly.
Regional rural banks (RRBs) are government owned scheduled commercial banks of India that operate at the regional level in different states of India. These banks are under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Sponsored Bank and concerned State Government in the ratio of 50:35:15 respectively. They were created to serve rural areas with basic banking and financial services. However, RRBs also have urban branches.
In the Indian subcontinent the Darzi caste, is found among Hindus and Muslims. They are known as Idrisi in the Muslim community. Darji are a community of tailors, numbering around Darzi are largely a landless community whose main occupation is tailoring. The profession of tailoring is done by both communities. In the Muslim community, the Darzi caste is known as Idrisi. According to the data of National Commission of Backward Classes, Darzi castes are listed as Other Backward Class (OBC) or Schedule Castes.
Telangana State Waqf Board, is a constituted Board established by the 1954 Central Act to manage, regulate and protect the exclusive affairs of Muslim endowment (Waqf) properties, Waqf institutions and Marriage Records of the Muslim community of Telangana, India. It is generally known and writes under the name and style of Muslim Waqf Board.
The Karnataka Wakf Board Land Scam concerns the alleged misappropriation of ₹2,000 billion (US$23 billion) in Indian property funds, made public by a report submitted by the Karnataka State Minorities Commission in 2012.
Principled Distance is a new model of secularism given by Rajeev Bhargava. The separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutions and religious dignitaries. He says that Indian secularism did not erect a strict wall of separation, but proposed a 'principled distance' between religion and state. Moreover, by balancing the claims of individuals and religious communities, it never intended a bludgeoning privatization of religion. In India, secularism means equal treatment of all religions. Religion in India continues to assert its political authority in matters of personal law. The western model of secularism is criticized in India for being an outdated concept as Rajeev argued that since Western model was developed when society was more homogeneous but since in the era of globalization, society is becoming more heterogeneous therefore a new concept, suitable for the present situation, is needed. He even argued that since Europe itself is no more homogeneous hence West should also follow the principled distance model which on one hand respects the diversity and at the same time empowers the state to interfere in case of any discrimination in the name of religion.
The final judgement in the Ayodhya dispute was declared by the Supreme Court of India on 9 November 2019. The Supreme Court ordered the disputed land to be handed over to a trust to build the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. The court also ordered the government to give an alternative 5 acres of land in another place to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque as a replacement for the demolished Babri Masjid.
Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi is the former member and chairman of the Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh, India. He is known for filing a petition in India's Supreme Court, as well as producing the Bollywood film Ram Ki Janmabhoomi and The Diary of West Bengal.
Uttarakhand Waqf Board is a statutory board of the Government of Uttarakhand in India.
The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board is a body constituted under The Wakf Act, 1995 of the Government of India, for general superintendence of the affairs of Sunni Muslim waqf (charity) properties, waqf institutions of the Sunni Muslim community of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Its chairman is Zufar Ahmad Faruqi. The Sunni Waqf Board has been the main Muslim litigant in the Babri Masjid–Ram Janmabhoomi title dispute.
Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana is the state regulatory and statutory representative body for lawyers practicing law in the three states of Punjab and Haryana and Union Territory of Chandigarh. It was constituted as per the mandatory requirement of Advocates Act, 1961 and Bar Council of India. In March 1953, the 'All India Bar Committee', headed by S. R. Das, submitted a report which proposed the creation of a Bar Council for each state and an All-India Bar Council as an apex body. Members of the Bar Council are elected from amongst members enrolled and practicing as lawyers in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, and they represent the state in Bar Council of India meetings. Bar Council enforces standards of professional conduct to be followed by member advocates, and designs etiquettes and has the power to enforce disciplinary guidelines over the members of Bar.
The Delhi Waqf Board is a statutory body of the Government of Delhi, initially appointed under the Indian Wakf Act 1954; now the Waqf Act 1995. It exercises control over Islamic mosques, dargahs, mausoleums, khankahs, madrasas, hospitals, and any other Islamic waqfs. The primary function of the Waqf Board is to ensure its properties and revenue are appropriately managed and used. The Board manages, regulates, and protects the waqf properties by constituting district committees, Tehsil committees, and committees for the individual institutions.
Syed Afzal Abbas is an Indian politician who is the senior leader of Janata Dal (United) and currently serving as the Chairman of the Bihar State Shia Waqf Board in the Government of Bihar.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Indian Lok Sabha on 8 August 2024. It seeks to repeal Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923 and amend the Waqf Act, 1995. The Act regulates waqf property in India, and defines Waqf as an endowment of movable or immovable property for purposes considered pious, religious, or charitable under Muslim law. Every state is required to constitute a Waqf Board to manage waqf. The Bill renames the Act to ‘United Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995’.
