The opposition parties had no time for niceties, asking for the immediate withdrawal of the Bill but wouldn’t mind if the Bill went to a Parliament committee, which was what happened at the end of the day, when Rijiju agreed and Speaker Om Birla said he would constitute a joint-parliamentary committee.

But before that, what is the role of a non-Muslim in the Waqf Board, when Waqf is Muslim and only Muslim? Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav injected mystery by linking the amendments to what he called "an attempt to take away the rights of the Speaker", much to Om Birla’s puzzle. Akhilesh Yadav is a puzzle in himself, difficult to read but easy to predict!

Panic in the Opposition was palpable. Why not? For the Waqf Board Amendment Bill, 2024 smelled of "Hindu Rashtra", which did not take long to bubble up to the surface when Waqf Board was made an essential adjunct to secularism. Does the Waqf Board Amendments Bill 2024 slice through the very heart of secularism?

The amendments the Bill comes with are many, but what really goes against the grain is that it proposes representation of Muslim women in waqf boards! That will upset the Muslim applecart, disturbing the precarious balance between man and woman in the fastest growing religious order. The opposition parties were clearly with the Muslim male, railing against the amendments, not bothered whether that made them misogynists or not.

Among them Alapuzha Congress MP KC Venugopal and Ernakulam Congress MP Hibi Eden, both of whom had given notice to the Speaker, opposing the introduction of the Bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards. Kiren Rijiju, who also doubles up as Minority Affairs minister, and Speaker Om Birla couldn't care less.

Rijiju point-blank rejected the premise that the Bill was against Article 25, stating that it had nothing to do with religion, establishing for once and all that secularism was not in danger as was being made out by the Opposition. Rijiju, in fact, stole the Bill and the thunder, stating that he was doing that which "you" should have done.

The Bill addresses issues pertaining to Muslim women and their children, who never got their due and were always left begging for their rights given to them under the Constitution. Secular parties have always vehemently given the impression that in Islam, the male of the species calls the shot.

Even when it comes to casting votes, Muslim women take the cue from the male head of the family. The Waqf Board Amendment Bill 2024 reduces the male of the species to the level of the female, further empowering the Muslim woman, period.

The amendments number 40+ and are the biggest overhaul of any Bill or Act. The Waqf Board Amendments Bill 2024 succeeds in changing the face of the Waqf Board inside out. The Waqf Board Act of 1995 had given overriding powers to the Waqf boards in acquiring and managing Waqf properties. Congress Prime Ministers Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh gave the Waqf Board Act more muscle.

But these amendments rip into the muscles and cut into the hegemony of the dominant Sunni Muslim sect over other Muslim sects such as Shia, Agha Khani, Bohra and Ahmediya. The Waqf Board Amendments Bill 2024 sounds and reads like a counter to LoP Rahul Gandhi's demand for a Caste Census. The Waqf Board Amendment Bill 2024 divides Muslims into sects and does it with impunity. The amendments were worked out after consultations with the different Muslim sects. Muslims had to cough up the little advertised fact that Muslims are not "one people", they too are riddled with divisions!

The amendments also give the government a big stake in acquiring and regulating waqf properties, which the secular opposition parties couldn't digest, especially Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, which is as far from Secularism as Delhi is to Dhaka. The government, of course, was making the changes only to get some control over the running of the Waqf boards. Come to think of it, August 8 2024 wasn't a great day for the Muslim community, which lost full control over its only cash cow! And, now, like Akhilesh Yadav said, the BJP has become "Bharatiya Zameen Party". Owaisi isn't laughing. (IPA Service)