Abstract
India is one of the earliest countries having official Waqf documentation dated back to the earlier 13th century. Although corresponding to changing administrations over the time, this unparalleled 'pious, religious and charitable' system of 'permanent donation’ has come up deftly to serve the needs of time like refugee problems, rehabilitation, educational accessibility, etc. Almost all waqf possessions belong to past centuries, whereas new admission has decreased. However, the utility has been reshaped coping up with the socio-economic pace of new trends. After the Waqf Act, 1995, enacted by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, its provision and maintenance were passed to the government of India. Since then the waqf related activities are governed under the ambit of aforesaid act with occasional amendments bearing the same sense of ‘charity for society’ concept and being bridge between community and society; spirituality and materiality and man and nation. Central and local authorities (CWC to MDC) were set up at a prospect of well-organized management. So far, ‘computerization’, property-wise ‘GPS-enabled IDs’ and other modernizing processes are discussed to serve the very purpose. Whatsoever, Its endowments, having one of the largest land ownerships in the country, have been prey of illegal takeover bid, encroachments and open corruptions. Most of these perpetual misuses have been left unquestioned without any proper measure to curb them due to toothless management. Since recent instances of growing communal separation in the country, derailing from the real succession process, Waqf Board administrative chairs have slipped away from the respective community leaders causing a flip-flopped substitution of beneficiaries. For a better way-out and safe transfer of waqf properties to the future generations, the Indian Muslim community itself, as well as the Government, should develop a mutually-consulted set of directives and implement them disproportionately.
This abstract was submitted for the conference 'Succession in Islamic Law 30 – 31 March 2023' called by Max Planck Institut for Comparative and International Private Law Hamburg
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