Waqf properties in Indian-administered Kashmir witness rising encroachments
Jammu — the Hindu-majority region — sees highest seizures of Muslim religious endowments amid fears of state takeover under new Waqf law
SRINAGAR, Kashmir (MNTV) — The recent adoption of a new Waqf Act by India’s Parliament has thrown fresh light on the alarming state of Muslim endowment properties in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, where large swaths of land intended for mosques, graveyards, and schools remain unprotected — or have already been seized.
The region’s Waqf Board currently lists over 32,500 religious endowment properties, yet only a handful are actively managed.
According to official data, 32,409 properties have no management assigned, 1,886 have been encroached upon, and over 150 are entangled in legal disputes.
Only 59 properties are overseen by traditional mutawallis (caretakers), and just 14 are managed directly by the Waqf Board — leaving the vast majority effectively orphaned and vulnerable to encroachment, misappropriation, or repurposing.
Waqf lands — historically used for community welfare, religious practice, and education — have increasingly come under threat, particularly in Jammu, the Hindu-majority southern region of the territory. There, both public and private actors have been implicated in systematic takeovers of Muslim properties.
According to the Kashmir Times, veteran journalist Muzamil Jaleel reported in 2020 that as early as 2006, more than 3,144 kanals (159 hectares) of Waqf land had been illegally occupied across Jammu province. These seizures often involved mosques, shrines (dargahs), graveyards, and Islamic schools.
One case in Chattha Gujjran, Jammu tehsil, illustrates the extent of the appropriation. A mosque on Waqf land was taken over by the Education Department, converted into a school, and later into a Sikh house of worship Gurudwara. Residential homes and an approach road were also carved from the same parcel.
In Samba district’s Thilori Gujjran, a Waqf graveyard was repurposed into a government girls’ school and a Hindu temple. In Rehari, a 34-kanal (1.7 hectares) graveyard was partially seized by the Indian Army, despite government inquiries supporting the Waqf Council’s claims. Nearby, plots were illegally allotted to civilians.
Chand Nagar’s Ziyarat, a revered Sufi shrine, was also taken over without resolution, its legal restoration stuck in bureaucratic limbo for years.
Encroachment wasn’t limited to civilians. Government departments — including the Education, Health, Police, and Rural Development Departments, along with the Jammu Municipal Corporation — have built schools, clinics, police stations, and even public toilets on Waqf land, often without compensation or official recognition.
Perhaps most egregious are cases where Muslim graveyards — some centuries old — have been turned into cremation grounds, playgrounds, or public pathways, often causing deep religious and communal resentment.
In Gol Gujral, 17 kanals (0.9 hectares) of Waqf graveyard land was converted into a Hindu cremation ground and public road. Similar patterns were observed in Akhnoor, RS Pura, Samba, and Bishnah — all located in Hindu-majority districts.
By 2006, recorded encroachments included:
- 663 kanals (33.5 hectares) in Jammu city
- 1,055 kanals (53.4 hectares) in Akhnoor
- 1,046 kanals (52.9 hectares) in RS Pura
- 350 kanals (17.7 hectares) in Samba
- 30 kanals (1.5 hectares) in Bishnah
A Right to Information (RTI) request — India’s equivalent of a freedom of information query — filed by activist MM Shuja in recent years revealed that Jammu district is the worst affected, with 1,098 waqf properties currently under encroachment. Others include:
- Kathua: 313 properties
- Samba: 261
- Poonch: 119
- Rajouri: 80
Even in the Kashmir Valley, long considered more protected, encroachments continue. In Srinagar, 11 Waqf properties — many near the Hazratbal shrine — have been illegally occupied. In Dooru Anantnag, 366 marla (0.9 hectares) of agricultural Waqf land was reported encroached in Nusoo Badragund.
Despite numerous pledges by successive administrations, efforts to reclaim Waqf lands have been minimal. Critics argue that the new Waqf Act, passed without community consultation, is likely to worsen the situation by centralizing control and stripping local Muslim communities of autonomy over their religious heritage.
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