Issues

The owner of a Sugar Factory has encroached the Wakf land belonging to the Masjid, Eidgah and Burial Ground of Grubaidoddi Village, Ramanagaram Taluk.


The Karnataka State Board of Wakfs seems to be functioning totally against the interest of the AUQAF. Stubbornness has reached to such an extent that no attention is paid to the AUQAF. The Board is tattering the provisions of the Wakf Act 1995 and Rules 997. As President of the Karnataka Wakfs Protection, Joint Action Committee, I feel pained to witness the exploitation of the interest of the AUQAF, as the religious, educational and economical interests of the weaker sections of the Muslim community are inter connected to the AUQAF and for the sake of a few people, the interest of Muslims at large cannot be sacrificed.


Recently, the Joint Action Committee gave a respite of 10 days for fulfillment of demands by issuing notices to the government and the Wakf Board because an irreparable damage has been done to the Muslim community by selling out 25 acres of prime and valuable Wakf land belonging to the Sataria Wakf on the Ramanagaram, Magadi Main Road, for just Rs. 43,96,900- a meagre amount, on July 19, 2006, conspiring with proclaimed Mutawallis. It is said that through this unlawful sale, the Board members have benefitted in lakhs. Let me mention case by case.


The owner of a Sugar Factory has encroached the Wakf land belonging to the Masjid, Eidgah and Burial Ground of Grubaidoddi Village, Ramanagaram Taluk. The government level joint meeting was conducted and it was decided to survey and demarcate the Wakf land by fixing boundary stones to enable the Board in fencing. But the Board is not implementing the decision of the government level meeting, in hope of getting good financial gains from the factory owner.


The Eidgah Jadeed Trust Board, Tannery Road, Bangalore which has the Shadab Shadi Mahal and a big commercial- cum- office complex fetches an annual income of Rs.80 lakhs. This is also under the management of the self-styled Trust. Recently, the Board has conducted Audits for the account of three years which revealed several scams, discrepancies, misappropriation. But so far, no action has been taken in hope of monetary gains from the self-styled Trustees.


The Dargah Hameed Shah Khadri (RA) and Hameed Shah Complex, Cubbonpet, Bangalore has an annual income of Rs.60 lakhs and it is under the illegal occupation of a Board member. There are several charges of misappropriation of funds against him. But the Board has been favouring him blindly. The Board has rejected the application of the Joint Action Committee for an amendment in the Scheme of Management to enable elections for the constitution of the Managing Committee. But the Board delegated power to its member to constitute the committee. Due to this, there is horse trading and corruption in the process of constituting the Committee.


The Anjuman-e-Islami Madaris-e-Niswan, Cockburn Road, Bangalore is the oldest Wakf institution for women’s education. Recently two self-styled committees clashed with each other to gain control over the administration.


(The writer is the President, Karnataka Wakfs Protection-Joint Action Committee, and can be reached at -Ph:9880507345)

The State Excise Act expressively prohibits sale of alcohol in properties registered with the Wakf Board.


In response to my article on the Right to Information Act in this publication I received good response from people across Karnataka and I present my reflections on the response from Dr A. Ahamed.


In his letter on Wakf and Hotel Windsor Manor also published in this publication, he has quoted incidents which are faced by all citizens in India. Here first of all, Dr Ahamed should differentiate between two kinds of property holders, one is the Wakf property which vests with God and the Wakif have donated for a specific purpose governed by separate set of rules, and other properties held by individuals. In simple terms, we cannot enter clean rooms be it a hospital, mosque or temple with our shoes on, so also Wakf property which is dedicated to Allah is governed by Wakf Act and the Wakf law prohibits sale of alcohol. The State Excise Act expressively prohibits sale of alcohol in properties registered with the Wakf Board and Windsor Sheraton being one such, in no way can sell alcohol covering it with a fig leaf by calling it a hotel. For the benefit of the readers, the government in reply to my RTI letter says that the original license issued to Windsor Manor cannot be traced and assumes that the original license may have been issued and hence renewed and Windsor Manor has been licensed to sell wholesale alcohol as well as retail. So how can anybody prescribe selling of alcohol on Wakf property?


If alcohol is allowed to be sold in a Wakf property, how can Wakf Board deny any other Wakf property say a mosque or a madrasa from selling alcohol? They have to set standards and not break them.


To avoid undesirable situations, the Wakf Board should think before it can let out its premises. The intention in letting out the premises is very important, and it must also considered for what purpose it will be used. Is the income legal and lawful? So when the Wakf property is being let out, we can always incorporate a clause, that in the event of it being used for illegal, or for selling prohibited items, the agreement stands cancelled.

The accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blast case have many questions for the system:

“What about those involved in riots and raping Muslim women?

What have the police done about all that?”


“I have already been proclaimed guilty of charges that are false and fabricated,” 1993 serial blasts’ accused Yakub Memon told the court.


“We have been proclaimed guilty, but others indicted (by the Srikrishna Commission) are still roaming scot-free. These people have not even been brought to trial, let alone be found guilty,” said Yakub.


The Maharashtra government had set up the one-man commission to probe the communal riots in Mumbai in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition. The report was tabled in the state assembly in 1997, but the then BJP-Shiv Sena combine government did not implement it. “There should not be any injustice. Implement the report and bring the guilty to book,” Yakub pleaded. Objecting to Yakub’s statement, public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said: “He should be heard on the matter of his sentence.”


After 13 years, the first phase of the delivery of judgements have begun, convicting the four members of the Memon family, Yakub Memon, Essa Memon, Yusuf Memon and Rubina Memon on charges of possessing unauthorised arms, abetment, conspiracy and harbouring the accused. Giving another twist to the unprecedented case, the designated TADA judge P. D Kode decided to deliver the much-awaited verdict in batches of eight.


Considering the testimony of 686 witnesses in over 13,000 pages of evidence tendered by them, the court is said to take more than a fortnight to deliver the entire verdict.


The accused have got a lot of questions for the system. “The police caught our brother and the court convicted him. But what about those involved in riots, raping Muslim women, killing innocent boys, demolishing the Babri Masjid? What have the police done about all that?” asked Najma, elder sister of Shahnawaz Qureshi. Qureshi, accused number 29 in the 1993 blasts was convicted of planting explosives at Plaza theatre, which killed 10 and injured 37.


The sisters work as domestic helps. They also double up as zari weavers in their spare time. Their parents passed away, it was “trauma”, the sisters said. Qureshi went without a lawyer, as the family had no money. “Where was the government when hundreds of Muslims were killed in Surat, Mumbai, women raped and our mosque demolished? “Four of our relatives were killed in the riots. Is the police paid to arrest Muslims only?” another sister, Parveen, asked.


One thing, which came out in open during the hearing, is the modus operandi of the Pakistan Secret service ISI and other foreign agencies that cast a wide net to trap innocent Muslim youth. Twenty-five accused were sent to Pakistan via Dubai for training in arms and ammunition. They travelled by Pakistan international airlines and their passports were collected by Tiger Memon and his men. It also transpired during investigations that the accused were indoctrinated by their foreign trainers that Muslims in India had suffered heavily during communal riots of 1992-93 and thus their religious sentiments were exploited to strike terror.


The first witness to step into the box was accused-turned approver Mohammed Khatlab who spilled the beans and disclosed the conspiracy saying he was lured by accused Farooq Motorwala to attend a meeting in Dubai called by Tiger Memon. The second witness was also an approver, Mohammed Usmanjan Khan, and he said he was involved in every stage of the conspiracy - attending meetings, participating in arms training and bomb making in Pakistan, stuffing RDX in cars and scooters and parking the vehicles in targeted places.


While few are willing to buy Yakub’s argument that he had been made a scapegoat, there are questions that still remain unanswered. Why did Yakub and his family come back to India? Why did they not stay on like Tiger Memon in Dubai?


Police officer turned lawyer Y.P Singh claims that Yakub had a deal with the investigators that led him to return to India. “They would have been promised a deal by the investigating agencies in lieu of returning back,” says former IPS officer Y.P. Singh.


While Yakub is accused of financing the operation, he was hoping to provide enough information to the police in return for clemency.


The other big question: what was the precise role of the Memon women, one of whom Rubina has been convicted? Officially, the investigators claim that the Memon women were also aware of the conspiracy. It’s a claim that the Memon lawyers say they will challenge in the Supreme Court. “We will be moving to the Supreme Court as soon as the verdict is pronounced,” say Memon’s lawyers.


Yakub has already spent most of the last 13 years in jail and the other brothers too face a bleak future. But as they await their sentences, their lawyers still believe that there are valid questions that will be raised as and when the court battle shifts to the Supreme Court.