Pious season of Mahakumbh hit by land row ::: Yogi asserts - his Govt will “reclaim every inch of land that had been taken under the pretext of Waqf”

The Maha Kumbh, the world's largest spiritual congregation, is being celebrated after 12 years and a huge turnout of devotees is expected in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26.

But the pious season is also hit with controversies especially over land and the role of the Waqfs of the Muslim clerics.

 
"The Kumbh has been a symbol of India's heritage for thousands of years and has always taken place here. It is not the Waqf Board but a board of land mafias," Chief Minister and a stalwart of Hindutva politics in contemporary India Yogi Adityanath told a TV channel. 

The Chief Minister minced no words in attacking the Waqf Board, saying that his government would “reclaim every inch of land that had been taken under the pretext of Waqf”. he also said there would be no “discrimination of any kind” during the Maha Kumbh. 

The remarks came after a Muslim cleric said - “The land where preparations are being made for Kumbh Mela belongs to Waqf - 54 bighas. Muslims showed a big heart and did not raise any objection but on the other hand, Akhada Parishad and other Babas are banning the entry of Muslims. 

This narrow-mindedness will have to be given up, we will have to show a big heart like Muslims".  

All India Muslim Jammat (AIMJ) president Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, who claimed that the land where the preparations for the Maha Kumbh 2025 were being made was Waqf's land. 

Yogi Adityanath said, “Anyone who respects Indian traditions is welcome. Many people had ancestors who converted to Islam under pressure in the past, yet they still take pride in Indian traditions.”

“If such people, following traditions, come to take a dip in the Ganga, there is no problem. 

But if someone comes with the intention of claiming the land, they might face denting-painting,” the chief minister told the TV channel.

The Chief Minister also issued a stern warning to the Waqf Board, saying that those coming to the Maha Kumbh with the intention of “claiming the land” would face “denting-painting”.  

“Those who have captured land in the Mahakumbh area must be forced out sooner or later,” Adityanath said while inaugurating a media centre in the Kumbh area on Thursday night, without naming Bareilvi or the waqf board.

“Is this a waqf board or a board of the mafia? It has become a board of the land mafia. We will take back every inch of land from them,” he later said.

“We are amending the waqf rules. We are scrutinising all the revenues collected (by the board)… and will take back all the land the waqf board has encroached on. We will build houses for the poor, hospitals and educational institutions on those plots.”

A waqf board manages and protects waqf properties, which are donated by Muslims for religious or charitable purposes. Aseem Waqar, spokesperson for the state unit of the AIMIM, said the waqf board was a state government department “and the chief minister is calling his own department the land mafia”.

Samajwadi Party MP Harendra Malik said the waqf boards were constituted by an act of Parliament and that every state government ran one.

The Waqf issue is already a political hot potato. A central government Bill is now being discussed and being scrutinised by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. 

In December 2024, the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, met leaders of the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB). 

A delegation from Darul Uloom Deoband has strongly opposed the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Maulana Arshad Madani, who spoke during the meeting with the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on December 11, 2024 expressed serious concerns about the bill's implications. 

He warned, "If these amendments are implemented, the safety of Muslim places of worship will be at risk."  

The JPC is holding consultations with a wide range of stakeholders and ministries aim to produce a thorough and comprehensive report on the matter.

The Lok Sabha has approved a motion to extend the tenure of the JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and mandated the presentation of their report by the end of the 2025 Budget Session.

BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, head of the JPC noted that the committee had held 27 meetings in Delhi prior to the extension of its tenure. 

These meetings included discussions with multiple stakeholders and various ministries of the Government of India.

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