VHP writes to Waqf panel, pitches for 1 law for endowments of religious properties of all religions

New Delhi: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday said it has written to the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, suggesting it to consider proposing enactment of one law for endowments of religious properties of all the religions in the country.

The letter sent to the parliamentary panel through VHP president Alok Kumar has suggested that instead of different laws governing control and management of properties of different religious communities, there should be a single law for endowments of all religious properties in the country, the organisation said in a statement.

“The Article 44 of the Constitution of Bharat provides that ‘the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India’”, it added.

In the letter, the VHP said it has underlined that the Waqf has been "defined as a permanent dedication of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognised by the Muslim Law as pious, religious or charitable".

“This dedication is made to Allah, the almighty. Once a property is so dedicated, it becomes the property of the Almighty and vests in him,” the organisation, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), said.

"Similarly, Hindus dedicate properties, movable or immovable, to their deities for the maintenance of the temples and for pious religious and charitable purposes,” it said Likewise, the followers of other religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Jains and Sikhs, dedicate their properties for purposes recognised in their religion as pious, religious or charitable, it added.

The VHP further said, “It may be reminded that the Waqf Act 1954 was not tabled in Parliament by or on behalf of the government. It was tabled as a private member’s Bill by Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi. It appears that the then ruling party was complicit in the moving of this Bill." The Bill was referred to the select committee of the Rajya Sabha and “surprisingly”, CC Biswas, the then minister of law and minority affairs, became the chairman of the committee, it added. In its letter to the parliamentary panel, the VHP said, “It appears to be an anachronism of the colonial period where a privileged law was enacted only for the second religious majority of Bharat”.

It is now time that the scope of the Act is enlarged to cover the charities of all religions, it added.

“However, if need be, there may be some exceptions and special provisions, wherever needed, to tailor to the needs, precepts and traditions of a religion as distinguished from other religions,” the VHP added.