Waqf Board says 17 monuments inside historic Karnataka fort is its property

The Karnataka Board of Waqfs has identified 17 monuments inside the historic Bidar Fort in Karnataka as its property, sources in the district administration said on Wednesday. These properties are among the major landmarks of the fort located in the district headquarters town of Bidar.
The Archaeological Survey of India, the custodian of the fort, is unaware of the development; the sources said, adding that out of 60 properties in the Bidar Fort premises, the Waqf Board found that 17 properties to belong to it.
These include renowned 16-‘Khamba’ (sixteen pillar) mosque, 14 tombs of various Bahmani rulers and their family members including Ahmed Shah-IV, Ahmed Shah’s wife, Allauddin, Hassan Khan, Mohammed Shah-III, Nizam, Sultan Ahmed Shah Wali and Sultan Mahmud Shah. A top Waqf Board official told PTI, on condition of anonymity, that notices have not been served to the ASI.
“How can the Board issue a notice to the ASI, which has been the custodian and protector of the historical monuments for several decades?” He alleged that a lot of mischief and misinformation is happening in the name of Waqf Board that is bringing a bad name to the Muslim community.
“Ever since the controversy started, we decided to withdraw all the notices, because it’s unjust and illegal to evict people sitting on a land for a very long time,” the official added. Meanwhile, Chairperson of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 Jagdambika Pal will visit Hubballi and Vijayapura in Karnataka on November 7 to interact with farmers allegedly affected by Waqf Board’s action.
The response came days after BJP MP Tejasvi Surya had requested Pal to invite farmers from Vijayapura district as witnesses to discuss their land disputes with the Waqf Board.
“Chairman of JPC on Waqf has kindly consented to my request to visit Hubli (Hubballi) and Bijapur (Vijayapura) on 7th November to interact with farmers affected by the Waqf’s predatory action. Chairman will interact with farmer organisations, Mutts and petitions given to him will be placed before JPC,” the Bengaluru South MP and member of the Committee, said on Tuesday.
In a October 29 letter, Surya highlighted his recent meeting with a delegation of farmers from Vijayapura district and other areas in the vicinity and had requested Pal to visit these regions in Karnataka to receive complaints and to have a public hearing of the farmers aggrieved by the Waqf Board’s action.
According to him, the farmers have claimed that apart from being served with notices, changes have been made in the RTC (Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops), ‘pahani’ and mutation registers for some of the land parcels without following the due process of law.
Following allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, Karnataka Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah has said that none of them will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn.