Hope and Deadlock in Munambam: Kerala라이브 바카라 Waqf Land Dispute Remains Unresolved After the 2025 Amendment

On the night of April 3, 2025, the people of the coastal village of Munambam in Ernakulam District in Kerala did not sleep. When the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament at 2 AM on the day, the village erupted in celebrations, as residents, mostly Christian families, saw it as a step towards resolving their long-standing land dispute with the Kerala State Waqf Board. The community, which had been protesting for 174 days over claims to 400 acres of land, burst firecrackers, chanted slogans like ‘Narendra Modi Zindabad’ and distributed sweets, expressing hope that the bill would restore their revenue rights. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and others like Shaun George and P. K. Krishnadas, visited Munambam to join the jubilant residents the next day morning, assuring continued support until their rights were secured. Chandrasekhar hailed the bill라이브 바카라 passage as a historic moment, accusing opposition parties like the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) of neglecting the community라이브 바카라 plight—giving a clue as to what the BJP is planning as a future course of action in Kerala by strengthening its ties with the Christian community.

However, the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, has not resolved the Munambam land dispute, despite initial hopes among residents. Legally, the issue persists because the bill lacks retrospective effect, meaning it does not apply to pre-existing disputes like Munambam라이브 바카라, where the Kerala Waqf Board claimed 404 acres as Waqf property in 2019. The bill라이브 바카라 Section 2A, which excludes certain trusts from Waqf classification, does not clearly address this specific case, as the land라이브 바카라 Waqf designation was already upheld by a 2009 commission and a Kerala High Court ruling. Ongoing litigation, including multiple appeals, and the bill라이브 바카라 focus on future transparency, rather than historical disputes, leave the issue unresolved, requiring further judicial clarity.

Origins of the Dispute

The dispute began with a 1950 donation of 404 acres in Munambam by Muhammad Siddique Sait to Farook College, Kozhikkode, for educational purposes. Over the decades, sea erosion reduced the land to about 135 acres. Between the 1980s and 1990s, the college sold portions of this land to roughly 600 families, mostly fishermen, who received registered deeds, paid land taxes, and built homes, assuming secure ownership. In 2019, the Kerala Waqf Board declared the land as Waqf property, following recommendations from the Nizar Commission, established by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in 2007. Waqf properties, under Islamic law, are dedicated to religious or charitable purposes and cannot be sold. The Board라이브 바카라 claim invalidated the prior sales, asserting the land belonged to the Waqf, raising eviction fears among the residents. Bureaucratic measures, such as the Revenue Department라이브 바카라 refusal to accept land taxes, further hindered the residents’ ability to access loans or develop their properties.

Since 2019, over 600 affected families have sustained protests against the Waqf Board라이브 바카라 claim, with demonstrations persisting for more than 170 days by early 2025. Centered around the Velankanni Matha Church in Kadappuram, the protests feature relay hunger strikes. Residents maintain they legally purchased the land, backed by deeds and tax receipts, and have lived there for generations. The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) and other Catholic Church entities have supported the protesters, highlighting the threat to their homes and livelihoods.

The Legal Tangle

The dispute has spurred significant legal and political activity. Residents challenged the Waqf Board라이브 바카라 2019 classification before the Waqf Tribunal in Kozhikode. To address the growing unrest, the government appointed a judicial commission led by Justice C. N. Ramachandran Nair to investigate the land라이브 바카라 legal and historical status and recommend measures to protect the occupants’ rights. The commission aimed to untangle the complex claims, given the land라이브 바카라 donation to Farook College and its subsequent Waqf designation. However, the Kerala High Court quashed the commission라이브 바카라 formation, responding to legal challenges questioning its authority and procedural legitimacy. This ruling paused the commission라이브 바카라 efforts, deepening the residents’ uncertainty. In April 2025, a High Court division bench stayed the quashing order, reinstating the commission라이브 바카라 mandate pending further hearings set for June 2025, reflecting the dispute라이브 바카라 legal volatility.

As of April 2025, the dispute remains unresolved. The Kerala High Court has restrained the Waqf Tribunal from issuing final orders until May 26, 2025, and the Ramachandran Nair Commission라이브 바카라 findings are still pending. Residents continue their protests, demanding the land라이브 바카라 removal from the Waqf registry and restoration of their revenue rights. While the Waqf Amendment Bill has sparked some optimism, its inapplicability to pre-existing claims leaves doubts about a permanent solution. The Munambam case exposes broader issues in India라이브 바카라 Waqf property governance, where unclear records and unilateral claims can disrupt lives, while highlighting the delicate task of resolving legitimate grievances without fueling communal tensions—a dynamic poised to shape Kerala라이브 바카라 political landscape.

In the absence of retrospective effect, the bill does not automatically nullify prior Waqf Board claims, like the one on the 404 acres in Munambam, registered as Waqf property in 1950. Legal experts note that existing claims, such as those upheld by the Waqf Board and supported by court rulings, remain unaffected unless explicitly addressed.

Residents hope Section 2A, which excludes trusts created by Muslims for purposes similar to Waqf from the Waqf Act라이브 바카라 purview, will help because they purchased the land from Farook College, a trust. However, the Waqf Board argues the land was registered as Waqf via a deed, with Farook College as mutawalli (caretaker), and not a trust independent of Waqf. For Section 2A to apply, residents must prove in court that Farook College라이브 바카라 status as a trust overrides the Waqf designation, a complex legal hurdle.

The Munambam dispute, involving 600 families (mostly Christian) who have lived on the land for generations, is tied up in multiple lawsuits at the Kerala High Court and Waqf Tribunal. The bill does not dissolve these cases or automatically grant revenue rights to residents. They must still establish legal ownership through judicial processes, which the bill does not streamline.

The Political Impact

With local body elections approaching in September 2025 and assembly polls in 2026, the dispute has become a political flashpoint in Kerala. The BJP has positioned itself as the residents’ advocate, gaining support among the Christian community, which traditionally backs the Congress or the LDF. After the bill라이브 바카라 passage, 50 Munambam residents reportedly joined the BJP, and the party organised a ‘Thank You Modi’ event on April 9, 2025, attended by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju. The BJP accuses the Congress and the CPI-M of prioritising Muslim vote banks over residents’ rights. On the contrary, the CPI-M and the Congress accuse the BJP of exploiting the issue to sow communal discord, though residents insist their struggle is about property rights, not religion.

Most residents of Munambam are Latin Catholics, backed by the Syro-Malabar Church, whose leaders, like Major Archbishop Raphel Thattil, have rallied for action, intensifying communal divides. Christian narratives casting the Waqf Board라이브 바카라 claims as a “Muslim move against Christians” have further widened the rift. Meanwhile, the IUML, led by Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, has pushed for mediation and a peaceful resolution, urging swift government intervention to safeguard residents’ rights. Yet, the legal tangle between the Waqf Board라이브 바카라 assertions and the natives’ claims complicates resolution efforts for the government. For the BJP, Munambam presents a political opportunity, with the new president Rajeev Chandrasekhar라이브 바카라 visit soon after a related bill라이브 바카라 passage signaling the party라이브 바카라 intent to leverage the issue in Kerala.

Shahina K. K. is a senior reporter covering South India

This article is part of 바카라라이브 바카라 May 01, 2025 issue 'Username Waqf' which looks at the Waqf Amendment Act of 2025, its implications, and how it is perceived by the Muslim community. It appeared in print as 'Cross Your Fingers'