New Delhi: Ahead of the November assembly elections in Jharkhand, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has alleged that land in Scheduled Areas is being “usurped” in the name of mosques, churches, burial grounds and mazars and notified as waqf property, asserting that it should be returned to the tribal communities.
Scheduled Areas are those regions in India that have a large tribal population and are governed by special provisions in the Constitution.
The VHP has made a representation to the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, detailing its charge and requesting that “adequate provisions may be made for this purpose” in the bill.
The allegation comes in the backdrop of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raising the issue of demographic change in Jharkhand and promising that if the party comes to power after the state elections, it will start the process of creating a national register of citizens and deport those who have entered the state from outside.
“It is noticed that thousands of properties in the Schedules (sic) Areas have been usurped in the name of mosques… in many cases the waqf boards have notified them as waqf properties. This violates the protection given to Scheduled Tribes in respect of the lands comprised in Scheduled Areas. Such transfer is unlawful and in breach of the constitutional protections to the Scheduled Tribes,” says the representation sent by the VHP last month, a copy of which is with ThePrint.
It was made on behalf of Alok Kumar, in his capacity as a lawyer and VHP president, and two retired judges.
The representation says all properties declared as waqf within the Scheduled/Tribal Areas should be mandatorily reviewed by the district collector.
It further points out that the Constitution of India makes special provisions for the protection of lands comprising the Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule and Tribal Areas under the Sixth Schedule.
“We also deem it necessary to include provisions into the Waqf Act to ensure that the guarantees given by the Constitution of India to the Scheduled Tribes are not allowed to be violated by the waqf boards,” it adds.
“And all such properties being used by the non-tribals or for purposes viz. mosques/churches, burial grounds, mazars, maghbaras and dargahs etc. in violation of the prohibition of transfer of lands under Schedule V of the Constitution must be restored to the tribals,” the letter further says.
“Where a land is proposed to be declared as waqf property by a waqf board in a Scheduled Area, it must be mandatory to refer the matter to the collector for examination and the decision of the collector shall be final,” it adds.
The VHP also hailed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, as a “substantial and much-needed reform aimed at remedying the historical and procedural deficiencies within the existing Waqf Act”.
“The bill introduces several provisions aimed at empowering Muslim women, promoting their participation in high-level decision-making, and supporting the welfare of women and children who need assistance for their living. These provisions are in compliance of ensuring the dignity of women as provided in the preamble of the Constitution and also in accord with the spirit of the Indian Constitution,” says the VHP’s representation.
‘Infiltration and conversion’
The BJP, in its campaign for the state elections, has been attacking the Hemant Soren-led government for allegedly allowing Bangladeshis to enter Jharkhand to purchase land and marry local tribal population and, through that, change the makeup of the local population and its customs.
Just last month, BJP MP Ravi Kishan alleged that the tribal population in the state was decreasing due to “infiltration and conversion”.
In an interview with ThePrint last week, Babulal Marandi, former Jharkhand chief minister and state BJP president, talked about “demographic change in Jharkhand being at alarming levels”.
Marandi alleged that tribal people, who once constituted 44 percent of the population in the state’s Santhal Parganas division, had been reduced to just 28 percent. Across the state, the tribal population has dropped from 36 percent to 26 percent since 1951 while Muslims have risen in numbers, he said.
The charges relating to tribal land are also significant in view of upcoming elections in Maharashtra, which, too, has a significant Scheduled Tribe population.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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