6 years ago Waqf Board had staked claim on 100 acres of land of UP College, Varanasi, came into discussion

Varanasi. On one hand, the Wakf Amendment Bill is being discussed in Parliament, while on the other hand, a case of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board’s claim on the land of Uday Pratap College, spread over about 100 acres in the parliamentary constituency of PM Modi himself, has come to the fore. However, this claim was made 6 years ago, to which the college also responded at the same time. But during the debate in Parliament on the Waqf Bill, this old claim of the Sunni Board has become a topic of discussion.

After the discussion in the Lok Sabha on the Waqf Amendment Bill, it is expected that this bill will be introduced in the 2025 budget session, but even before that a new case related to Waqf has come to light from Varanasi. The UP Sunni Central Waqf Board had claimed the UP College spread over about 100 acres in Bhojubir area of ​​​​Varanasi to be a Waqf property six years ago. On 6 December 2018, Ale Atiq, Assistant Secretary of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, Lucknow, sent a notice to this 115-year-old autonomous college under the Waqf Act 1995.

Claim of Waqf property
Wasim Ahmed Khan, a resident of Bhojubir Tehsil Sadar, sent a registry letter stating that UP College Choti Masjid is the property of Nawab Tonk, which Nawab Sahab had made Choti Masjid a Waqf. Therefore, it is a Waqf property and it should be taken under control. If no reply is given by the college management within 15 days, then your objection will not be heard. Responding to this, the then Secretary of UP College Education Committee UN Sinha had said on 21 December that Uday Pratap College was established in 1909 under the Charitable Endowment Act.

‘This land belongs to the Endowment Trust’
On this entire matter, Uday Pratap College Principal Prof. DK Singh said that a notice was sent by the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board on behalf of a shrine in UP College that the land of UP College belongs to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, to which the then secretary had also sent a reply that this land belongs to the Endowment Trust. Neither the land can be bought nor sold and if there is any kind of ownership right, then it ends. This is the act of some undesirable element who is claiming this land to be the land of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board.

He told that after giving the reply, no further correspondence was done by the board. But in the meantime, they wanted to get some construction work done in the mosque, on which we took action and got the construction material removed with the help of the police. He told that in 2022, the police was also informed that no construction work can be done. Principal Prof. DK Singh told that the electricity of the shrine was also cut because electricity was stolen from the college itself and used to light the shrine. He told that the board had tried by sending a notice at that time, but the then principal and secretary had responded to it actively.

Wasim Ahmed Khan died last year
Wasim Ahmed Khan, a resident of Bhojubir, Varanasi, who had made the claim, died last year at the age of 75. In 2022, Wasim Ahmed had also told the Waqf Board that his health is not good. Therefore, he cannot pursue this case. It is said that in the 1857 revolt, the Nawab of Tonk was interned here by the British. His people settled here because of him and Nawab Sahib built a big mosque and a small mosque for his people. There is a small mosque in the campus of UP College.