Activists warn Indian bishops’ Waqf intervention licences ‘state intrusion’

‘At a time when Christian institutions are themselves under increasing pressure from state authorities, we must be particularly vigilant in safeguarding the broader principles of minority rights and religious freedom.’

Catholic activists warned the Indian bishops that their support for the government’s Waqf Bill, affecting Islamic charitable donations, risks legitimising “state intrusion under the guise of reform”.

Referring to a statement issued on 31 March by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CBCI), which asked political parties to support the bill, 15 senior Catholic human rights activists, including John Dayal and Fr Cedric Prakash SJ besides leading nuns and academics, wrote a letter voicing their concern at the bishops’ intervention.

In the letter to the CBCI dated 8 April, they said: “At a time when Christian institutions are themselves under increasing scrutiny and pressure from political and state authorities … we must be particularly vigilant in safeguarding the broader principles of minority rights and religious freedom.

“As concerned members of the Catholic community in India, we feel the CBCI intervention of urging political parties to support the bill raised several serious issues that merit careful reconsideration.”

They continued: “As citizens, it is our constitutional duty to uphold the rights of all religious communities and to stand in solidarity with those whose freedoms are under threat.

“For the strength of our witness as a Church lies in our commitment to justice, peace, and solidarity – not only within our own community but with all those who are vulnerable.”

They said the new amendments, especially the inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf boards governing the administration of donations, infringes on the autonomy of a religious minority’s institutional affairs.

Noting the controversy in Munambam, where 400 to 600 Christian families in a coastal village are under the threat of displacement due to a local Waqf claim over the land, which the CBCI had cited, they said it was a localised matter already under judicial consideration.

It should not have served as the basis for supporting a national legislative change that now has far-reaching implications for another religious minority community.

The CBCI statement risks legitimising state intrusion under the guise of reform, the letter warned, adding that the bishops’ body should engage in deeper reflection and consultation before issuing public statements on matters that have wide-ranging consequences.

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