Central Waqf Council

{{Infobox organization

| name = Central Waqf Council

| image = Emblem of India (Government Gazette).svg

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| size = 100

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| formation = 1913

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| headquarters = P-13 & 14, Sector-6, Pushp Vihar, Opposite Family Court, Saket, South Delhi-110017

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| region_served = India

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| language = Hindi, English & Urdu

| leader_title = Chairman

| leader_name = George Kurian (Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs){{cite web|url=http://centralwakfcouncil.org/members.htm|title=Members|publisher=CFC website|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004010746/http://centralwakfcouncil.org/members.htm|archivedate=2010-10-04}}

| main_organ = Council

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| affiliations = Union Ministry of Minority Affairs

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| website = {{URL|http://centralwaqfcouncil.gov.in/}}

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Central Waqf Council is an Indian statutory body operated by the Government of India under The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, a subordinate of the Waqf Act, 1995.

The Waqf boards in the Indian subcontinent were formed in 1913 during the British rule. Mussalman Waqf act 1923 was established for the purpose of advising it on matters pertaining to the working of the State Waqf Boards and proper administration of the Waqfs in the country. Waqf is a permanent dedication of movable or immovable properties for religious, pious or charitable purposes as recognized by Muslim Law, given by philanthropists. The grant is known as mushrut-ul-khidmat, while a person making such dedication is known as Wakif.{{cite book|last= Ariff|first=Mohamed|title=The Islamic voluntary sector in Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NP4ZL0TJ9s4C&dq=waqf&pg=PA43|year=1991|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=981-3016-07-8|page=42}}{{cite book|last=Gupta|first=K.R. |author2=Amita Gupta|title=Concise encyclopaedia of India, (Volume 1) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o84vxeFIeYUC&dq=wakf+board&pg=PA192|year=2006|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|isbn=81-269-0637-5|page=191}}{{Cite web |title=EXPLAINED: What is a Waqf board, and what are its governing principles? |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/explained-what-is-a-waqf-board-and-what-are-its-governing-principles/504789 |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=www.timesnownews.com |date=17 October 2019 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2019-10-17 |title=Explained: How a waqf is created, and the laws that govern such properties |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-how-a-waqf-is-created-and-the-laws-that-govern-such-properties-6072476/ |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=October 2, 2010 |title=Waqf board handles Muslim rulers' property {{!}} India News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/waqf-board-handles-muslim-rulers-property/articleshow/6668877.cms |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}

The Council

The Waqf boards were constituted in 1913, during the British rule.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VoNLBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT288|title=Multiculturalism and Religious Identity: Canada and India|author=Sonia Sikka, Lori G. Beaman|publisher=McGill-Mqueen's Press|page=288|year=2014}}{{cite web | last=Rehman | first=Asad | title=Explained: The proposed changes to Waqf law | website=The Indian Express | date=2024-08-09 | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-law/proposed-changes-to-waqf-law-9503596/|quote=India has had a legal regime for the governance of Waqfs since 1913, when the Muslim Waqf Validating Act came into force.}} The first legislation to regulate waqfs was enacted in 1923. It was named as 'The Mussalman Waqf Act 1923'.{{cite book | last=Mohsin | first=M.I.A. | last2=Dafterdar | first2=H. | last3=Cizakca | first3=M. | last4=Alhabshi | first4=S.O. | last5=Razak | first5=S.H.A. | last6=Sadr | first6=S.K. | last7=Anwar | first7=T. | last8=Obaidullah | first8=M. | title=Financing the Development of Old Waqf Properties: Classical Principles and Innovative Practices around the World | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US | series=Palgrave Studies in Islamic Banking, Finance, and Economics | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-137-58128-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eedODQAAQBAJ&pg=PA197| page=197}}

The Central Waqf Council is a statutory body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Minority Affairs was set up in 1964 as per the provision given in the Waqf Act, 1954 as Advisory Body to the Central Government on matters concerning the working of the Waqf Boards and the due administration of Auqaf. This act was later repealed.{{cite book | last=Hussain | first=P.S.M. | title=Muslim Endowments, Waqf Law and Judicial Response in India | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-000-33705-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1gMEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT69 | access-date=2024-02-09 | page=69}}

The Waqf Act 1995 was implemented under the government of P. V. Narasimha Rao. As of April 2024, Waqf amendment bill 2025 has been passed by the Loksabha and Rajyasabha and awaits the consent of the President of India, Draupadi Murmu.

State Waqf Boards

The State Waqf Boards are established by the State Governments.{{cite web |title=The Waqf Act, 1954 |url=http://www.centralwaqfcouncil.gov.in/sites/default/files/The%20Waqf%20Act%201954.pdf |website=Central Waqf Council |publisher=Central Waqf Council, Minority Affairs of India |accessdate=2019-08-03}}{{cite book |last1=Danyal |first1=Kahkashan Y. |title=The Law of Waqf in India |date=2015 |publisher=Regal Publications |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788184844726 |page=60}} These work towards management, regulation and protect the Waqf properties by constituting District Waqf Committees, Mandal Waqf Committees and Committees for the individual Waqf Institutions. The Waqf Boards shall be body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire and hold property. In the case that more than fifteen per cent of the total number of waqf property is Shia waqf, or the income thereof is more than fifteen per cent, the Act envisages a separate Shia Waqf Board.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands Waqf Board
Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board
Assam Waqf Board
Bihar State Sunni Waqf Board
Bihar State Shia Waqf Board
Chandigarh Waqf Board
Chhattisgarh Waqf Board
Dadra & Nagar Haveli Waqf Board
Delhi Wakf Board
Gujarat Waqf Board
Haryana Waqf Board
Himachal Waqf Board
Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board
Jharkhand State Sunni Waqf Board
Karnataka Waqf Board
Kerala Waqf Board
Lakshadweep Waqf Board
Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board
Maharashtra State Board of Waqfs
Manipur Waqf Board
Meghalaya Waqf Board
Odisha Waqf Board
Puducherry Waqf Board
Punjab Waqf Board
Rajasthan Board of Muslim Waqfs
Tamilnadu Waqf Board
Telangana State Wakf Board
Tripura Waqf Board
Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board
Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board
Uttarakhand Wakf Board
West Bengal Waqf Board

Presently there are thirty Waqf Boards across the country in twenty-eight states and Union territories. States such as Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim and the Union Territory Daman and Diu have no Waqf Board at present. The Waqf Act 1995 is not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.

Justice Shashvat Kumar, who headed the Shashvat Committee has prepared a status report on Muslims in India in 2011 and the finding of this report was that Nationwide, Waqf properties constitute a land bank worth Rs. 1.2 lakh crore and could have generated annual returns of Rs. 12,000 crores but yielded only Rs. 163 crores and found that there was "a severe shortage of senior government officers who are Muslim to manage waqf affairs. A separate cadre would mean officers who are not only permanent but also qualified enough".{{cite news|title=Sachar sought a dedicated waqf cadre, govt said no|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sachar-sought-a-dedicated-wakf-cadre-govt-said-no/756986/2|accessdate=3 March 2011|newspaper=Indian Express}}

The Haryana Wakf Board (HWB) registered an all-time high income of Rs 17.03 crore during 2010–11, which is Rs 3.33 crore higher than the previous year. During 2010–11, the Board spent Rs 3.32 crore on various educational and welfare activities. The Board had earmarked Rs 6.47 crore in the budget for 2011–12 to meet the main objectives of waqfs and various educational and welfare activities, he said.{{cite news|title=Haryana Wakf Board registers Rs 17.03 cr income|url=http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5325510|newspaper=Press Trust of India|date=29 Jul 2011}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Corruption and Controversies

The central as well as state Waqf Boards have been allegedly involved in corruption, land encroachment, and misappropriation of funds.{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/569220/waqf-board-chief-alleges-corruption.html|title=Waqf board chief alleges corruption by former chairmen|date=2016-09-08|website=Deccan Herald|access-date=2019-10-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.afternoonvoice.com/wakf-boards-mired-corruption.html|title=Wakf boards mired in corruption|date=2017-03-07|website=Afternoon Voice|access-date=2019-10-05}} The Karnataka Wakf Board Land Scam is one such case.

References

External links

[http://centralwaqfcouncil.gov.in/ Central Waqf Council, Official website]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100105042025/http://www.delhiwakfboard.org/ Delhi Wakf Board]
[http://www.karwakf.org/ Karnataka Wakf Board]
[http://www.keralastatewakfboard.in/ Kerala Wakf Board]
[http://mahawakf.com/ Maharashtra State Board of Waqfs]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100201151822/http://www.tnwakfboard.org/index.htm Tamilnadu Wakf Board]

Category:Islam in India

Category:Government agencies established in 1913

Category:Organisations based in Delhi

Waqf