The move of Waqf board has drawn criticism from several quarters of the society including from political parties in the Kashmir region.
On Friday, several mosques in Kashmir attached to the Khanqahs decried the decision of the Waqf board. In Verinag Jamia Masjid Anantnag, the Masjid committee decried the Waqf’s decision of complete takeover of the Khanqahs and throwing out the Khudamans who have been taking care of the Khanqahs before the Waqf came into existence.
Farooq Ahmed Khan, the president of the committee said that the people in charge are on chairs and very far from the ground realities.
“This caravan of Sufi faith is not working because of the Governments but due to the hardwork of these Molvis and Khudamans. When anyone visit any Ziyarat, they guide them about it. They make Duas and the visitors feel great that wishes are heard by Allah through their mediation. Then people make donations. Everything is done by them,” Farooq Khan said.
“Of course, there can be wrong somewhere where these persons force people to donate. If that is controlled, all the Auqafs working in Jammu Kashmir will support them. We are appealing the administration to revoke the recent order, otherwise this order will not work beyond the chair,” Farooq said.
The Waqf board as per an order issued here vide order No. JKWB/Adm/ CE/ 1723-25 dated 16th August, 2022 asked the Khudamans (caretakers of Khanqahs) to wind up from their shrines as they were “exploiting” people.
Pertinently, Waqf board has its own donation boxes across the Khanqahs and Mosques it has under its control in the Kashmir valley.
Last year, the process of centralizing the locally controlled Waqf board was started. As per the Jammu Kashmir reorganization Act, 133 Muslim mosques and shrines in Jammu Kashmir were put under the Central Waqf Board, while as, All Hindu and Sikh religious places will be governed by the local shrine boards.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the then Union Minister for Minority Affairs had said that after the abolition of Article 370, Waqf properties will be taken over by the Central Waqf board. He said that the property and the income of the shrines in Kashmir will be used for socio-economic-educational activities under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Program’.
He said that the funds of the Waqf board will be under the Prime Minister’s Public Development Program. Naqvi said that for the first time since independence, the government led by Narendra Modi will provide 100 percent of funds for the development of educational and health institutes on Waqf properties across the country.
Sources within the Waqf board told The Kashmiriyat that they have been asked to digitize all their records of the local properties of the Waqf board and start registration of the entire process in a short span.
Jammu Kashmir Muslim Auqaf Trust (MAT) came into existence in 1940 as part of the resistance movement led by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. He freed many shrines and mosques of Kashmir under the Dogra rule with the intent to form local community-based help for the destitute.
MAT was disbanded in 2004 by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Waqf came into the picture expecting the Waqf Board to do wonders as the government claimed to have freed the waqf from the Family rule.’
As per official figures, the Waqf board owns 1453 shops, 2160 Kanals of orchard land, 99 Kanals of paddy land, 6840 Kanals of forest land, 32 Kanals of marshy land, and 63 Kanals of Eid gah Land.