SRINAGAR, India: India‘s parliament on Wednesday began discussing a controversial proposal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government to amend laws governing Muslim land endowments in the country.
The bill would add non-Muslims to boards that manage waqf land endowments and give the government a larger role in validating their land holdings.
The government says the changes will help to fight corruption and mismanagement while promoting diversity, but critics fear that it will further undermine the rights of the country’s Muslim minority and could be used to confiscate historic mosques and other property from them.
Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the Waqf Amendment Bill on Wednesday, which would reform a 1995 law that set rules for the foundations and set up state-level boards to administer them.
Debate in the parliament’s Lower House is expected to be heated as the Congress-led opposition is firmly against the proposal. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party does not have a majority but may be able to depends on allies to pass the bill. Both BJP and the Congress have asked their lawmakers to be present in the House.
If passed, the bill will need to clear the Upper House before it is sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent to become a law.
Many Muslim groups as well as the opposition parties say the proposal is discriminatory, politically motivated and an attempt by Modi’s ruling party to weaken the minority rights.
The controversial bill was first introduced in parliament last year, but was later sent to a committee of lawmakers for discussion after opposition parties raised concerns. The committee’s report was tabled in both houses of parliament on Feb. 13 amid protests by opposition leaders who said that their inputs were ignored. The government claims that opposition parties are using rumors to discredit them and block transparency in managing the endowments.
What’s a waqf?
Waqfs are a traditional type of Islamic charitable foundation in which a donor permanently sets aside property — often but not always real estate — for religious or charitable purposes.
Waqfs in India control 872,000 properties that cover 405,000 hectares (1 million acres) of land, worth an estimated $14.22 billion. Some of these endowments date back centuries, and many are used for mosques, seminaries, graveyards and orphanages.
Law would change who runs waqfs
In India, waqf property is managed by semi-official boards, one for each of the country’s states and federally-run union territories. The law would require non-Muslims to be appointed to the boards.
Currently, waqf boards are staffed by Muslims, like similar bodies that help administer other religious charities.
One of the most controversial amendments is the change to ownership rules, which potentially could impact historical mosques, shrines and graveyards under the waqf. It could change the ownership rules of many of these properties which lack formal documentation as they were donated without legal records decades, and sometimes, even centuries ago.
Questions about title
Other changes could impact historic mosques, whose land is often held in centuries-old waqfs.
Hindu radical groups have targeted mosques across the country and laid claim to several of them, arguing they are built on the ruins of important Hindu temples. Many such cases are pending in courts.
The law would require waqf boards to seek approval from a district level officer to confirm waqfs’ claims to property.
Critics say that would undermine the board and could lead to Muslims being stripped of their land. It’s not clear how often the boards would be asked to confirm such claims to land.
Fears among Muslims
While many Muslims agree that waqfs suffer from corruption, encroachments and poor management, they also fear that the new law could give India’s Hindu nationalist government far greater control over Muslim properties, particularly at a time when attacks against the minority communities have become more aggressive under Modi, with Muslims often targeted for everything from their food and clothing styles to inter-religious marriages.
Last month, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its annual report that religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate while Modi and his party “propagated hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities” during last year’s election campaign.
Modi’s government says India is run on democratic principles of equality and no discrimination exists in the country.
Muslims, which make 14 percent of India’s 1.4 billion population, are the largest minority group in the Hindu-majority nation but they are also the poorest, a 2013 government survey found.
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Indian government tables bill to take over centuries-old waqf management from Muslims
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Indian government tables bill to take over centuries-old waqf management from Muslims
- The bill would add non-Muslims to boards that manage waqf land endowments and give the government a larger role in validating their land holdings
- The government says the changes will help to fight corruption and mismanagement while promoting diversity
More than half the US threatened with ice, snow and cold in massive winter storm
Forecasters warned that the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane
At least 177 million people were under watches or warnings for ice and snow and more than 200 million were under cold weather adviseries or warnings
WASHINGTON: It was too cold for school in Chicago and other Midwestern cities Friday as a huge, dayslong winter storm began to crank up that could bring snow, sleet, ice and bone-chilling temperatures as well as extensive power outages to about half the US population from Texas to New England.
Forecasters warned that the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane. Airlines canceled thousands of flights, churches moved Sunday services online and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Carnival parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.
At least 177 million people were under watches or warnings for ice and snow and more than 200 million were under cold weather adviseries or warnings. In many places, those overlapped. Utility companies braced for power outages because ice-coated trees and power lines can keep falling long after a storm has passed.
“It’s going to be a big storm,” Maricela Resendiz said as she picked up chicken, eggs and pizzas at a Dallas store to get her, her 5-year-old son and her boyfriend through the weekend. Her plans: “Staying in, just being out of the way.”
Ice, snow and sleet could begin falling later Friday in Texas and Oklahoma. The storm was expected to slide into the South with freezing rain and sleet. Then it will move into the Northeast, dumping about a foot (30 centimeters) of snow from Washington, D.C., through New York and Boston, the National Weather Service predicted.
Arctic air is the first piece to fall in place
Arctic air that spilled down from Canada prompted schools throughout the Midwest to cancel classes Friday. With wind chills predicted to be as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius) frostbite could set in within 10 minutes, making it too dangerous to walk to school or wait for the bus.
In Bismarck, North Dakota, where the wind chill was minus 41 Fahrenheit (minus 41 Celsius), Colin Cross cleaned out an empty unit for the apartment complex where he works.
“I’ve been here awhile and my brain stopped working,” said Cross, bundled up in long johns, two long-sleeved shirts, a jacket, hat, hood, gloves and boots.
Nationwide, more than 1,000 flights were delayed or canceled Friday, with well over half of them in Dallas, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. About 2,300 Saturday flights were canceled.
In Oklahoma, Department of Transportation workers pretreated roads with salt brine while the Highway Patrol canceled troopers’ days off.
The federal government put nearly 30 search and rescue teams on standby. Officials have more than 7 million meals, 600,000 blankets and 300 generators placed throughout the area the storm was expected to cross, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Ice could take down power line
s and pipes could freeze
Once ice and snow end, the frigid air from the north will head south and east. It will take a while to thaw out, an especially dangerous prospect because ice can add hundreds of pounds to power lines and branches and make them more susceptible to snapping, especially if it’s windy.
In at least 11 Southern states from Texas to Virginia, a majority of homes are heated by electricity, according to the US Census Bureau.
A severe cold snap five years ago took down much of the power grid in Texas, leaving millions without power for days and resulting in hundreds of deaths. Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that won’t happen again, and utility companies were bringing in thousands of employees to help keep the power on.
Pipes are also at risk.
In Atlanta, where temperatures could dip to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 12 Celsius) and stay below freezing for 36 hours, M. Cary & Daughters Plumbing co-owner Melissa Cary ordered all the pipe and repair supplies she could get. She said her daily calls could go from about 40 to several hundred.
“We’re out there; we can’t feel our fingers, our toes; we’re soaking wet,” Cary said. “I keep the hot chocolate and soup coming.”
Northeast prepares for heavy snow
The Northeast could see its heaviest snow in years.
Boston declared a cold emergency through the weekend, and Connecticut was working with neighboring New York and Massachusetts in case travel restrictions are needed on major highways.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont urged people to go grocery shopping now and “stay home on Sunday.”
Philadelphia announced schools would be closed Monday. Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. told students, “It’s also appropriate to have one or two very safe snowball fights.”
People are hunkering down
Stephen McDonald, who hasn’t had a home in three years, was hoping to get out of the cold in Jackson, Mississippi. But the Shower Power homeless shelter was adding spray foam insulation and ceiling heaters, keeping it closed until Saturday.
Friday night’s forecast called for lows near freezing. “Your hands get frozen solid, and they hurt real bad,” said McDonald,. “It’s not good.”
At the University of Georgia in Athens, sophomore Eden England was staying on campus to ride out the weather with her friends, even as the school encouraged students to leave dorms and go home because of concerns about losing power.
“I was texting my parents and we kind of just realized that whether I’m here or at home, it’s going to suck either way,” England said. “So I’d rather be with my friends, kind of struggling together if anything happens.”
At least 177 million people were under watches or warnings for ice and snow and more than 200 million were under cold weather adviseries or warnings
WASHINGTON: It was too cold for school in Chicago and other Midwestern cities Friday as a huge, dayslong winter storm began to crank up that could bring snow, sleet, ice and bone-chilling temperatures as well as extensive power outages to about half the US population from Texas to New England.
Forecasters warned that the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane. Airlines canceled thousands of flights, churches moved Sunday services online and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Carnival parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.
At least 177 million people were under watches or warnings for ice and snow and more than 200 million were under cold weather adviseries or warnings. In many places, those overlapped. Utility companies braced for power outages because ice-coated trees and power lines can keep falling long after a storm has passed.
“It’s going to be a big storm,” Maricela Resendiz said as she picked up chicken, eggs and pizzas at a Dallas store to get her, her 5-year-old son and her boyfriend through the weekend. Her plans: “Staying in, just being out of the way.”
Ice, snow and sleet could begin falling later Friday in Texas and Oklahoma. The storm was expected to slide into the South with freezing rain and sleet. Then it will move into the Northeast, dumping about a foot (30 centimeters) of snow from Washington, D.C., through New York and Boston, the National Weather Service predicted.
Arctic air is the first piece to fall in place
Arctic air that spilled down from Canada prompted schools throughout the Midwest to cancel classes Friday. With wind chills predicted to be as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius) frostbite could set in within 10 minutes, making it too dangerous to walk to school or wait for the bus.
In Bismarck, North Dakota, where the wind chill was minus 41 Fahrenheit (minus 41 Celsius), Colin Cross cleaned out an empty unit for the apartment complex where he works.
“I’ve been here awhile and my brain stopped working,” said Cross, bundled up in long johns, two long-sleeved shirts, a jacket, hat, hood, gloves and boots.
Nationwide, more than 1,000 flights were delayed or canceled Friday, with well over half of them in Dallas, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. About 2,300 Saturday flights were canceled.
In Oklahoma, Department of Transportation workers pretreated roads with salt brine while the Highway Patrol canceled troopers’ days off.
The federal government put nearly 30 search and rescue teams on standby. Officials have more than 7 million meals, 600,000 blankets and 300 generators placed throughout the area the storm was expected to cross, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Ice could take down power line
s and pipes could freeze
Once ice and snow end, the frigid air from the north will head south and east. It will take a while to thaw out, an especially dangerous prospect because ice can add hundreds of pounds to power lines and branches and make them more susceptible to snapping, especially if it’s windy.
In at least 11 Southern states from Texas to Virginia, a majority of homes are heated by electricity, according to the US Census Bureau.
A severe cold snap five years ago took down much of the power grid in Texas, leaving millions without power for days and resulting in hundreds of deaths. Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that won’t happen again, and utility companies were bringing in thousands of employees to help keep the power on.
Pipes are also at risk.
In Atlanta, where temperatures could dip to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 12 Celsius) and stay below freezing for 36 hours, M. Cary & Daughters Plumbing co-owner Melissa Cary ordered all the pipe and repair supplies she could get. She said her daily calls could go from about 40 to several hundred.
“We’re out there; we can’t feel our fingers, our toes; we’re soaking wet,” Cary said. “I keep the hot chocolate and soup coming.”
Northeast prepares for heavy snow
The Northeast could see its heaviest snow in years.
Boston declared a cold emergency through the weekend, and Connecticut was working with neighboring New York and Massachusetts in case travel restrictions are needed on major highways.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont urged people to go grocery shopping now and “stay home on Sunday.”
Philadelphia announced schools would be closed Monday. Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. told students, “It’s also appropriate to have one or two very safe snowball fights.”
People are hunkering down
Stephen McDonald, who hasn’t had a home in three years, was hoping to get out of the cold in Jackson, Mississippi. But the Shower Power homeless shelter was adding spray foam insulation and ceiling heaters, keeping it closed until Saturday.
Friday night’s forecast called for lows near freezing. “Your hands get frozen solid, and they hurt real bad,” said McDonald,. “It’s not good.”
At the University of Georgia in Athens, sophomore Eden England was staying on campus to ride out the weather with her friends, even as the school encouraged students to leave dorms and go home because of concerns about losing power.
“I was texting my parents and we kind of just realized that whether I’m here or at home, it’s going to suck either way,” England said. “So I’d rather be with my friends, kind of struggling together if anything happens.”
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