600 Christian Families Face Waqf Board Claims

Around 600 Christian families in Cherai, a fishing village in Kerala, have raised concerns about the Waqf board’s “unlawful claims” on their properties. The Syro-Malabar Church and the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) have approached the Joint Parliamentary Committee regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024.

The families are living in fear of eviction due to alleged unlawful claims on their properties. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju mentioned on X on September 28 that their grievances will be addressed, stating, “The issue of Waqf land has been affecting people across communities.”

In their submissions to the JPC, both church organizations raised concerns about properties belonging to Christian families in the Cherai and Munambam areas of Ernakulam district being “illegally” claimed by the Waqf Board. On September 10, Archbishop Andrews Thazath addressed a letter to the JPC, stating that several properties in the Ernakulam district, owned by Christian families for generations, have been unlawfully claimed by the Waqf Board.

The Archbishop urged the JPC to consider the predicament of the people at risk of losing their properties due to these unlawful claims. Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, President of the KCBC, also expressed alarm regarding the Waqf board’s illegal claims on the properties of over 600 families in Munambam Beach.

What Is The Dispute?
The village in Kerala is facing a severe crisis as 610 families fear eviction due to a land dispute with the Waqf Board. The villagers, primarily fishermen, have lived there for over a century.

According to them, the land was purchased by Siddique Sait in 1902 and later donated to Feroke College in 1950. A long-standing dispute between the fishermen and the college was resolved in 1975, with the High Court ruling in favor of the college. However, in 2022, the village office suddenly claimed the land belonged to the Waqf Board, denying the villagers’ revenue rights and preventing them from selling or mortgaging their properties. This situation poses a serious crisis for the 600 Christian families involved.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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