The Waqf (Amendment)Bill, 2025, seeks to resolve longstanding conflicts between religious land claims and the constitutional land rights of India’s Scheduled Tribes.
NEW DELHI: In 2025, the Indian government introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in response to growing concerns over land encroachment in tribal areas by Waqf Boards—religious bodies that manage Islamic endowments in India. While this amendment may appear to be a technical legal reform, it touches on a critical and long-overlooked issue: the safeguarding of tribal land rights under the Indian Constitution.
At the heart of this legislative change lies the need to address the conflict between religious land claims and the constitutional rights of Scheduled Tribes (STs), who often find themselves at the receiving end of land acquisition, marginalisation, and legal ambiguity.
Understanding the Background: The Waqf Act, 1995 and Its Implications
The Waqf Act, 1995 was enacted to regulate and manage properties that have been endowed for religious or charitable purposes under Islamic law. These include mosques, dargahs (shrines), graveyards, and properties meant for community welfare. Over time, Waqf Boards established under the Act gained sweeping powers to declare and manage such properties, often based on historical claims and land records.
However, this law lacked sufficient checks and balances, particularly in tribal-dominated Scheduled Areas. In these regions, the legal ownership and usage of land is governed not only by general Indian law but also by special constitutional protections enshrined under Schedule V and Schedule VI of the Constitution. These schedules were introduced specifically to protect tribal people’s autonomy over their land, resources, and culture.
The Problem: Unilateral Land Claims and Tribal Displacement
In recent years, increasing instances have come to light where Waqf Boards have claimed ownership of land within Scheduled Areas, often without consulting local tribal councils or verifying ownership records in accordance with tribal land laws. These unilateral declarations led to thousands of acres of land being recorded as Waqf property—land that, in many cases, was originally held or inhabited by tribal communities.
This has had grave implications:
- Loss of ancestral land for tribal families.
- Prolonged legal battles between tribal communities and Waqf Boards.
- Conflicts involving Christian missionary institutions, some of which also occupy land in Scheduled Areas, adding another layer of religious and legal complexity.
- Erosion of constitutional protections under Schedule V and VI, which prohibit land transfers to non-tribals without approval of the District Collector or tribal governing bodies.
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Who Raised the Alarm: ABVKA’s Role
The Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (ABVKA), an organisation affiliated with the RSS that works for tribal welfare, played a pivotal role in bringing this issue to the forefront. In its submission to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), the ABVKA documented several instances of alleged misuse of the Waqf Act:
- Ranchi, Jharkhand – Land disputes involving churches and Waqf Boards, despite constitutional protections for tribals in this Fifth Schedule state.
- Andhra Pradesh Agency Areas – Churches and missionary-run schools in Scheduled Areas received legal notices from Waqf Boards claiming the land historically belonged to Waqf.
- Koraput & Mayurbhanj, Odisha – Long-standing tribal lands entangled in legal conflicts due to overlapping land claims by religious groups.
- Bastar, Chhattisgarh – Accusations of land usurpation by non-tribals, including religious groups, amid broader tensions about religious conversions and tribal autonomy.
- North-East (Carbi Anglong, Garo Hills) – Sixth Schedule areas also saw tribal lands claimed under Waqf, despite autonomous tribal council governance in those regions.
Constitutional Crisis: Schedule V and VI Violations
These instances reflect a systemic failure to uphold the constitutional promise made to India’s tribal communities. Schedule V and VI of the Constitution were designed to prevent exploitation of tribal people by:
- Prohibiting land transfers to non-tribals.
- Creating tribal advisory councils to oversee land rights.
- Allowing state governors and autonomous councils to regulate land laws.
By ignoring or circumventing these safeguards, Waqf Boards, in some instances, acquired land through administrative notifications rather than court adjudications, creating a parallel system of property rights that operated outside the tribal legal framework.
The Core Problem: Legal Ambiguity and Power Imbalance
One of the core problems highlighted by the ABVKA is the legal asymmetry: while Waqf properties enjoy statutory protection and can only be challenged in specialized Waqf Tribunals, tribal land claims have to navigate a much more complex and slower process, often requiring intervention by district authorities or state governments. This imbalance leaves tribals vulnerable, especially in cases where land records are ambiguous or outdated.
Moreover, there is a lack of transparency in how Waqf properties are identified and notified. Once declared as Waqf, the property becomes subject to religious trust laws, significantly restricting the ability of non-Waqf parties—including tribals—to reclaim or contest it.
What the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 Aims to Do
In response to these concerns, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 proposes several key reforms aimed at rectifying past injustices and ensuring tribal land rights are preserved:
- Mandatory Review of Waqf Notifications in Scheduled Areas by District Collectors.
- Prohibition on Declaring Waqf Property in Scheduled Areas without prior approval from tribal councils or local governance authorities.
- Restoration of Wrongfully Acquired Land to tribal communities if it was transferred in violation of Schedule V or VI protections.
- Transparent Processes and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms that do not override tribal rights.
- Clarification of Land Records to ensure historical land claims do not undermine present-day tribal ownership.
These provisions are expected to re-balance the power between statutory Waqf Boards and tribal land custodians, ensuring that religious endowments do not override indigenous rights.
Why This Matters: A Step Towards Tribal Justice
For decades, issues concerning tribal rights have remained at the margins of national discourse. Land alienation, displacement, and exploitation have been recurring themes in India’s tribal history—from colonial times to present-day development projects. Yet, conflicts involving religious institutions have often been underreported or avoided due to their sensitive nature.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, marks a crucial turning point in acknowledging and addressing this issue. By protecting tribal lands from unilateral religious claims, the Bill aims to restore legal and moral justice to communities that have long suffered in silence.
It also sets a precedent for harmonizing religious rights with constitutional obligations, reinforcing the idea that no religious or administrative body—regardless of its faith—can override the rights of India’s indigenous people.
A Long Overdue Reform
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 is not just a technical revision of a religious endowment law—it is a long-overdue corrective measure that recognizes the historical injustices faced by Scheduled Tribes, especially concerning land rights in protected areas. By amending the 1995 Act, the government has acknowledged that land is not just property for tribal communities—it is identity, heritage, and survival.
The Bill also sends a broader message: that constitutional protections are not optional, and no institution—religious or otherwise—can function above the Constitution. In strengthening the legal framework for tribal protection, this amendment affirms India’s commitment to justice, equity, and the rule of law.
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