I read with interest Rasheed Ahmed’s article that raised concerns that the proposed amendment to Section 23 of the Act to allow non-Muslim officials to be appointed to Waqf Boards “risks diluting the historical and religious ethos of the waqf system” (“Proposed Waqf Act amendments strike a discriminatory note for Muslim charitable organizations”).
His concerns are misconstrued, as is the analogy he draws to Jain, Sikh and Hindu religious endowments. Classical Islamic jurisprudence is unambiguously clear that “women, bondsmen and non-Muslims” can be mutawallis, trustees, administrators or managers of waqfs.
A number of British-era cases have also recognised this, and except in the performance of a solely religious or spiritual function, there is no bar on non-Muslims serving as administrators of waqfs. We find several waqfs that were historically administered by non-Muslims, such as those in Malerkotla, Punjab and in the Bombay Presidency.
Concerns about the proposed waqf amendments are genuine, but the concern about non-Muslim officials overseeing temporal administration of charitable waqf properties is misplaced and contrary to both Islamic jurisprudence and precedents in Anglo-Mohammedan Law. – Adhiraj Parthasarthy
Sassoon family
It is always fascinating to read about vanishing and declining communities, such as the Jews and Parsis, which have both made remarkable contributions to our country (“How the Sassoon’s of Bombay became one of China’s wealthiest families”). The Sassoons used their massive wealth to propel the cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong into becoming financial capitals of the East. They inspired a generation of Chinese to be successful capitalists and entrepreneurs. The Mumbai-based Sassoon family was often known as the “Rothschilds of the east”. Their wealth shaped the establishment of notable Mumbai landmarks that include docks, a library and a major hospital in Pune. – HN Ramakrishna
Media bias
This comment is not true (“The Indian media is acting like a Hindutva ally in its coverage of the violence in Canada”). It is high time the people in Canada realise that supporting terrorists is dangerous for their country as well. Even if Canadians lack human values, a sense of responsibility and feel there is no wrong in sheltering killers, they should be concerned that these terrorists will start their activities on Canadian soil as well. The Canadian people should pressurise their corrupt politicians and ensure that such terrorist elements are not encouraged. – Sreenivasan
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Indian media has the right to defend Indian view. What is wrong about that? The problem is that Westerners love to preach about freedom but when someone speaks their mind, they can’t accept it. Western countries should stop acting like teachers of the world and playing at being the police. – Kalpataru Bhattacharya
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In today’s world, or for that matter, anytime, there is nothing such as unbiased reporting. It is well known which side of the fence Scroll is on and what its agenda is. – Nidhiram
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The way the news has published by Scroll, the publication appears to be an anti-Hindu mouthpiece of extremists in Bangladesh (“‘Misconstrued, unfounded’: Bangladesh on India’s remarks about arrest of Hindu leader”). India helped free Bangladeshis from Pakistan and now they have forgotten how they got their independence. Bangladesh is an ungrateful country which is now supported by our unscrupulous press. – Arun Kale
Gulzar’s poetry
Only a father or mother can write such a poem (“Gulzar on his daughter Meghna: ‘A piece of sun mingles in my blood, day and night’”). I thoroughly enjoyed it. – Randhir Poswal
