TN Waqf Board head refutes Centre's claim over 1,500-year-old 'Hindu village'
Kiren Rijiju cites Tiruchendurai village in LS to defend Waqf (Amendment) Bill; Board says only Chandrasekhara Swamy temple on its land gifted by 18th Century queen, not whole village
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Thursday (August 8) introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, despite facing strong criticism from the Opposition. During his address, Rijiju highlighted numerous instances of encroachments and illegalities by the Waqf boards, drawing particular attention to a village in Tamil Nadu, which was controversially claimed as Waqf board property.
While presenting his case for the amendments, Rijiju pointed to a 1,500-year-old temple in Tiruchendurai that had also been classified as Waqf property. “The 1,500-year-old Chandrasekhara Swamy temple is located there. A man attempting to sell his property was informed that his village is Waqf property. Just imagine, the entire village has been declared Waqf property. Don’t see religion here,” the minister remarked.
‘Minister’s statement false’
However, Abdul Rahman, the head of the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board, has refuted Minister Rijiju’s claim. “The entire village would measure up to 800 to 900 acres and Waqf property covers about 480 acres. The 1,500-year-old temple is on Waqf property, but the donors of the land clearly stated that the temple should remain as it is. There is no harm in having a temple on Waqf land,” he told The Federal.
Rahman added that the minister’s statement was false and that a wrong narrative was being spread to incite hatred. “Only some portions of Tiruchendurai village were encroached upon, and we never claimed that the entire village belonged to the Board. Anyone who doubts our claim has the legitimate right to move to court and verify the legal records. They can produce patta and other revenue records as proof if our claim is false,” Rahman stated. He also mentioned that another village, Suriyur in Trichy, has a substantial amount of land under Waqf property, including a 1,000-year-old temple and nine ponds around it. “We appreciate that an ancient temple is part of Waqf property, and we admire its dedication. Whether it is a temple or any other structure, we adhere strictly to legal records,” said Rahman.
The residents of Tiruchendurai village said that after the 2022 controversy, the revenue department allowed land transactions in the village without requiring a no-objection certificate.
The Queen’s gift to Muslims
When The Federal reached out to villagers of Tiruchendurai, the fact-checking process connected the dots from the Tiruchendurai controversy, which erupted in 2022, to donations made in the 18th century. According to historical records, Queen Rani Mangammal had gifted several villages, including Thiruchendurai, to the Waqf Board — a fact documented in a 1954 gazette and confirmed by an ancient copper plate referring to the village as ‘Inam Gramam.’ During her reign in the 1700s, Queen Mangammal granted several acres of land to Muslims and contributed to the protection of many mosques, symbolising her friendship with Muslim rulers, including Aurangzeb.
Fast forward to 2022, several landowners protested against the Waqf Board’s claim over hundreds of acres in the village. The issue came to light when a farmer named Rajagopal, attempting to sell his land, was instructed to obtain a no-objection certificate from the Waqf Board. Due to bureaucratic delays, he was unable to conduct his daughter’s wedding as planned, as he had intended to use the proceeds from the land sale.
BJP leaders’ plea behind Amendment?
BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu supported the villagers and demanded government intervention to reclaim the land. They also questioned how the 1,500-year-old Chandrasekhara Swamy Temple was classified as Waqf property. The campaign gained momentum as many villagers approached the district administration with their land records, challenging the board’s ownership claims.
After a peace committee meeting and the intervention of authorities, land transactions in the village resumed without the need for a no-objection certificate from the Waqf Board. The body has requested the revenue department to survey the village to determine its property ownership. Sources indicate that the survey has not yet been completed, and the ownership of Waqf property in the village remains unresolved.
BJP leaders in state raised the issue with senior party functionaries in Delhi, including Nirmala Sitharaman, way back in 2022. BJP cadres in Tamil Nadu now claim that the petition by the Tiruchendurai villagers had led the government to think about amendments related to Waqf board properties across India.
‘No rent paid to Waqf Board’
The residents of Tiruchendurai village said that after the controversy, the revenue department allowed land transactions in the village without requiring a no-objection certificate. P. Chandrasekaran’s family, which has lived in Tiruchendurai for over ten generations, stated that it was only after the farmer’s land became a subject of controversy that many villagers became aware of the Waqf property’s existence.
“We had never heard of the Waqf Board owning land in our village. After the controversy, many officials visited our village. If our village lands belonged to the Waqf Board, rent should have been collected. So far, none of us in the village have paid any rent to the Waqf Board. We are unsure how our village lands came to be considered donated land for the Waqf Board,” he said. He also noted that villagers were not prevented from buying or selling land after the controversy.
