The Waqf Amendment Act 2025 passed by the Central Government has now become the cause of dispute and conflict across the country with the aim of abolishing the misuse and irregularities of Waqf properties. The BJP has described the Act as “a historic step towards bringing transparency in the management of religious properties”, while some radical organizations have started demonstrations on the streets by calling it “anti -Muslim conspiracy”.
Bengal becomes the center of violence
VIDEO | Kolkata: Aliah University Students Hold Protest Over Waqf (Amendment) Act.
(Full video available on pti videos – https://t.co/n147tvqrqz, pic.twitter.com/c1fi7veqwd
– Press Trust of India (@Pti_News) April 11, 2025
VIDEO | Kolkata: Aliah University Students Hold Protest Over Waqf (Amendment) Act.
(Full video available on pti videos – https://t.co/n147tvqrqz, pic.twitter.com/c1fi7veqwd
– Press Trust of India (@Pti_News) April 11, 2025
Photos from Murshidabad (West Bengal) are the most worrying. According to reports, after Friday prayers, a fierce mob targeted the local Hindu community and vandalized, stone pelting and arson. In the viral video, a person – whose face is clearly visible – can be heard saying: “There are Hindu dogs. When we come to power, we will take care of them.” So far more than 150 people have been arrested, but there is tension in the area. Many Hindu families have been forced to displace.
BJP allegations: ‘Fundamentalists open exemption, TMC silence’
Over a Thousand Families have fled their homes in Murshidabad and TAKEN SHELTER in Nearby Districts. Last week, I covered the mother riot, and now this.
This video is proof of what women and children are enduring in west Bengal due to the waqf bill protests – Fuled by… pic.twitter.com/jdfjoua9sn– Dr. Archana Majumdar (@DRARCHANAWB) April 13, 2025
The BJP has called the violence “a deadly culmination of minority appeasement”. Senior leaders Suvendu Adhikari, Dilip Ghosh and Abhijeet Gangopadhyay questioned Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government’s silence, alleging that Hindus were insecure in Bengal. Terun Chugh called Mamta as “modern Jinnah” and said: “His politics compromises Hindu security for appeasement of minorities.”
Protests across the country, some calm and some fierce
In Hyderabad, protesters demanded Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to dismiss the Act.
There were clashes between the crowd and the police in Silchar (Assam).
There was a peaceful protest at Jama Masjid in Delhi.
Protests were also held in cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Hosur and Lucknow.
Videos which shows the situation in kolkata today:#WAQFBill Protestors blocked roads and swirled “Palestinian Flag” on Hijacked Buses: pic.twitter.com/cfz5hudwgq
– @JXH45 ( @JXH45) April 10, 2025
The equality of these protests shows that a strategy has now been made to open the road by a section of the society. BJP’s reply: ‘Constitution is supreme, not Waqf Board’ BJP leaders argue that the Waqf Board cannot be above the Constitution. This amendment eliminates the monopoly of “dynastic clerics and land mafia” and paves the way for the benefits of Waqf properties to Pasmanda Muslims. Shahzad Poonawala said: “This is the state sponsored violence. Dispute of temples, migration of Hindus and arson – is this the secularism of TMC?”
Question on the role of Congress and opposition
Open Announcements on trucks carrying #WAQFBill protestors in kolkata:
“Kuch der ki khamoshi hai, phir shor aayega. pic.twitter.com/pltbczovhs
– @JXH45 ( @JXH45) April 10, 2025
Opposition parties like Congress, TMC and AIMIM have opposed the Waqf Amendment Act, but the BJP has accused them of adopting double standards for abstaining from violence and hate speech.
Government’s stance: law will not return
The central government has made it clear that it is not going to retreat on the Waqf Amendment Act. Instead, the BJP has announced to run a ‘Waqf Reform Awareness Campaign’ from April 20 to May 5, so that Muslim society can be informed about the benefits of this law. This political and social earthquake on the Waqf Act 2025 is not just opposed to one law, but it has become a symbol of religious and political thinking conflict in the country. In which direction this battle of reform vs. appeasement will go, it will be clear in the coming electoral months.
