Two groups clash over Waqf land claims in Karnataka, 30 arrested

At least five people were injured after two groups clashed following a heated argument in Karnataka’s Haveri late on Wednesday night. While the police did not elaborate on the reason, locals said clashes erupted following controversy over waqf land.
According to the police, a few members of a community threw stones at a house in which five people were injured.
“We don’t know why this fight started. Thirty people are arrested and we’ll investigate and find the reason,” a senior police official said.
Members of the Hindu community claimed that some local Muslims submitted a petition to district officials claiming waqf land in the village.
However, upon checking, there was no such petition submitted.
Despite this, some Hindu men allegedly threw stones at eight Muslim houses, which led to a clash between the two communities.
Window panes of some of the houses were shattered, and a few vehicles were vandalised in the incident too. The injured people were admitted to the district hospital for treatment.
However, members of the Hindu community alleged that Muslim members filed a petition with district officials claiming Waqf land in the village. After preliminary investigation into the allegations, it was found that there was no such petition filed, but Hindu people felt the petition was given, and hence a fight broke out, police clarified.
This came days after farmers in Vijayapura’s Honvada village, also in Karnataka, said they received a letter from the Tehsildar on October 4, which stated that 1,500 acres of their ancestral land was being reassigned to the Waqf Board.
Following the allegations, Congress minister Zameer Ahmed Khan clarified that of the 1.12 lakh acres previously managed by Waqf, only 23,860 acres remain under its control. He refuted claims that Waqf appropriated farmers’ land, emphasising that he, too, comes from a farming background and would respect farmers’ rights.
On August 8, the government introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the Lok Sabha, saying that the law was aimed to streamline the Waqf Board’s work and ensure the efficient management of Waqf properties.
It was immediately sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) after Opposition parties and Muslim organisations expressed concerns, claiming that the bill was a targeted measure against the community and an infringement on its constitutional rights.
The Waqf bill proposes inclusion of two women members on all state Waqf boards as well as on the Central Council.
The JPC had in August invited views and suggestions from the public, NGOs, experts, stakeholders, and institutions on the law that the NDA government had proposed to change the Waqf law.