Excerpts from the speech of Dipankar Bhattacharya at the protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill organized by AIMPLB at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, on March 17, 2025.
The Waqf Amendment Bill has been unilaterally brought in by the BJP government to further target the collective identity and dignity of the Muslims in the country. Despite dissent note sent by all opposition members, the Joint Parliamentary Committee has recently adopted the bill. Just like today’s Bulldozer Raj, the Waqf Amendment Bill is being bulldozed on us.
The CPIML stands firmly against the Waqf Amendment Bill. Our MPs have spoken out against the bill inside the parliament. The Waqf Amendment Bill is aimed at targeting one community, that is the Muslim community. The land under Waqf Board is certainly linked to the practice of collective charity and welfare of the Muslim Community. However, what must be emphasised in the current context is that the present fascist regime targets each section separately. They want us to remain divided, they want us to fight our separate battles while they enact their script of snatching away rights of farmers, tribals, Dalits, Muslims, adivasis, women and the oppressed masses. It is our task, at this juncture, to realise that these are not separate battles. We must stand with each other in defending our constitutional and civil rights.
Today, the autonomy of every institution, like the Waqf Board, is being taken away. The BJP led Uttarakhand Government has implemented the regressive and communal Uniform Civil Code. They are creating a narrative to otherwise the Muslims and target their personal laws. But in effect, individual liberty and civil rights of all citizens from Uttarakhand are being violated through the UCC.
Through the Waqf Amendment Bill they want to clamp down on the identity of Muslims in the country. Let us remember, when the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed, it targeted the Muslims at large, but in effect, the CAA was linked with NPR and NRC. Thus, making citizenship rights of a vast section of the country vulnerable at mercy of the state machinery run by the fascist government in power. The mass upsurge against CAA at Shaheen Bagh and all other places in the country correctly identified the CAA to be an attack on our constitution. It is a time for all sections of the society to stand with each other’s battle to defend our constitutional rights. The Waqf Amendment Bill is an attack on our constitution. It must be resisted by all of us.
