The Pasmandas, which constitute 73% of the total Muslim population of Bihar, will get representation in the Waqf Board for the first time once the law comes into force, JD(U) member Sanjay Kumar Jha said.
During a discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Rajya Sabha, Jha said canards were being spread in the Muslim community about their mosques, Eidgahs, and burial grounds coming under threat due to the Bill. However, the discussion has cleared the air, he added.
He said most disputes related to the Bill are over selling land and self-consumption of 90 per cent of the rent.
“They (Pasmandas) feel that once this law is implemented, work will be done for poor Muslims in the true sense,” Jha said He said Bihar is the only state that has carried out a caste census and highlighted that 73 per cent of the total Muslim population in Bihar is Pasmanda.
“We have scientific data. There are people from the Raeen community, Ansari community, and Mansuri community… to date, they have not been given representation in Waqf. This is the first time that they will get their representatives in the Waqf Board,” Jha said.