Dehradun, April 2 -- It is being hoped that the Waqf Amendment Bill protest will strengthen the INDI Alliance parties' standing with their most loyal voters, the Muslim community. This singular objective overlooks the actual merits of the Bill in making the Waqf Boards more transparent and oriented towards what were the original objectives - welfare of the community. It is no secret that these boards have been used largely to strengthen the hold of a few persons on large tracts of land and properties, without using the wealth derived from transactions to establish schools, colleges, orphanages, hospitals, etc., that the trusts associated with other minority communities usually do.
The Waqf boards go as far back as 1913 when they were const...