A row has emerged in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi when the state Waqf Board claimed ownership of the 115-year-old Udai Pratap College. The assertion, first made in 2018, has resurfaced amid the continuing discussion over the Waqf Amendment Bill.
The more than 100 acres of college property, according to the Uttar Pradesh Central Sunni Waqf Board, is Waqf property connected to a historic mosque on campus. The college administration, however, has vehemently denied this, claiming that the property is part of a nonprofit endowment and cannot be sold or transferred.
In December 2018, the Waqf Board addressed a letter to the institution, saying that the Choti Masjid and its accompanying property were gifted to Waqf by the Nawab of Tonk and hence should be under the board’s authority.
Responding to the notification at the time, the college administrators maintained that Udai Pratap College was founded in 1909 under the Charitable Endowment Act and denied the Waqf Board’s allegations. The institution now has more than 17,000 students.
According to the college management, no further move was taken by the board for years after their reply. However, in 2022, there was an attempt by the Waqf Board to carry out construction at the mosque, which was halted by the police following a complaint from the college, Udai Pratap College Principal DK Singh said.
The principal also alleged that the electricity supply to the shrine was cut off because the power being used there was “illegally stolen” from the college.
The initial notice was sent by Wasim Ahmed Khan, a Varanasi resident who died in 2022. While there had been no renewed efforts by the Waqf Board, the matter has once again come to light in view of the upcoming Waqf Amendment Bill, set to be presented in the Lok Sabha.
Get the latest news updates and stay informed with FELA NEWS!
Source: India Today
