Waqf Bill: Fear, Anger, Disbelief in Western UP

A visit to Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and Saharanpur—prominent cities in Western UP—reveals that several rumours pertaining to the Waqf Law are floating around. While some say the amendments are a ploy to snatch lands and properties owned by Muslims and hand them over to the government and corporates, the others say the passing of the Bill is an excuse to interfere with the religious practices of Muslims and is an attempt to fan the Hindu-Muslim fire ahead of the 2027 state elections. Snapshots from the ground

Children wait at the gate of a mosque that houses a madrasa at a basti where those displaced after the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots have been living

Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/바카라

Madrasa Mazahir Uloom at Saharanpur

Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/바카라

Mujeeb Shibli, the caretaker of Ayesha Mosque, Muzaffarnagar, shows the notice he got from the city magistrate for “disrupting peace”. The notice was sent to 300 others who offered namaz at Ayesha Mosque wearing black bands to protest against the Waqf Bill

Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/바카라

Mohammad Mosin with the other survivors of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots

Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/바카라

Shops on the entire stretch at Meenakshi Chowk in Muzaffarnagar are built on Waqf property. They have been paying nominal rent for years

Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/바카라

A shopkeeper shows the rent receipt he receives from Waqf. In an unusual move, the owners of the sixty-year-old Nagina building in Saharanpur have lent the shops on the premises to Hindu shopkeepers