Uniting for Justice: The Protests Against the Waqf Amendment Act and Karnataka Farmers’ Movement

– Dr. M. Iqbal Siddiqui

Across Karnataka’s bustling cities and lush farmlands, an extraordinary alliance is taking shape – an alliance where Muslim protesters challenging the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, stand shoulder to shoulder with farmers in Devanahalli fighting to save their ancestral fields from state acquisition. More than a mere protest against laws or land grabs, this movement is a stirring testament to unity in diversity: a collective call for justice, religious autonomy, and the right to livelihood. It draws strength from the lessons of India’s troubled land reforms and echoes a shared resolve – to ensure that the voices of the marginalised are neither silenced nor forgotten, but placed firmly at the heart of the nation’s democratic promise.

Unity Against State Overreach

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 – passed swiftly by Parliament and signed into law on 5 April – reshapes the governance of nearly 940,000 acres of Waqf properties dedicated to religious and charitable purposes. It mandates centralised digital registration, compulsory audits, and shifts decision-making from elected Waqf Boards to government-appointed officials, including non-Muslims. On the scrapping of “Waqf by user” principle and requiring formal documentation, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) warns that it threatens religious autonomy and risks dispossession, calling it a “sinister conspiracy” against constitutional protections.

Running parallel is the Devanahalli farmers’ protest in Karnataka, which has continued for over 1,180 days since 4 April 2022. Farmers oppose the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board’s acquisition of 1,777 acres across 13 villages to build a Defence and Aerospace Park – endangering the livelihoods of 650 families, many from Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and undermining Bengaluru’s food security. Farmers like Jagadish, who lost land in 2018 without fair compensation, now face renewed displacement. Organised under the Channarayapatna Land Acquisition Protest Committee and supported by Samyukta Horata Karnataka, the movement relies on indefinite dharnas and the “Bhoomi Satyagraha,” demanding a full rollback of the project.

The AIMPLB’s June 2025 rally in Hyderabad became a remarkable gathering of solidarity, uniting Sikh, Christian, Dalit, and Adivasi voices alongside Muslim protesters in a shared call for justice and constitutional rights. While in Devanahalli, Samyukta Horata Karnataka united Muslim, Dalit, and Adivasi farmers against state-led land grabs. Joint actions – like statewide human chains on 4 July 2025 – combine demands to repeal the Waqf Act’s contentious provisions with halting the Devanahalli acquisition. By turning shared grievances into collective resistance, these movements challenge divisive narratives and build a united front for constitutional justice, transparency, and the protection of marginalised communities’ rights and heritage.

From Zamindari to Waqf: A Continuum of Land Challenges

These movements reflect India’s troubled history of land reforms, which have often failed to serve the public interest – economic stability, social equity, and sustainable development – exacerbating current disputes:

• Abolition of Intermediaries: Zamindari Abolition Acts (1950s) led to tenant evictions in states like Uttar Pradesh, as intermediaries retained land under exemptions, causing socioeconomic hardship. Vijayapura’s Waqf notices and Devanahalli’s acquisitions echo these evictions.
• Tenancy Reforms: Poor enforcement left tenants, often Dalits and Adivasis, without ownership rights, perpetuating exploitation. Muslim farmers in Vijayapura face similar insecurities.
• Ceiling Laws: Loopholes like benami transfers undermined redistribution. The Waqf Act’s documentation risks enabling land grabs, as does KIADB’s acquisition.
• Consolidation of Landholdings: Fragmentation persisted, with holding sizes dropping from 2.28 hectares (197071) to 1.08 hectares (201516), hindering efficiency. Flawed land records fuel both movements’ grievances.
• These failures highlight the risks of current policies, necessitating cooperative resistance to prevent further dispossession.

A Unified Struggle: Interfaith Alliances and the Fight for Justice

The cooperation between the Waqf Amendment Act protests and the Devanahalli farmers’ movement illustrates the transformative power of collective action in confronting systemic threats to land rights and community autonomy. Though driven by distinct grievances, both movements converge in resisting state-led policies that are unjust and harmful to the livelihoods, cultural heritage, and dignity of marginalised communities. The “Bhoomi Satyagraha” in Devanahalli, has become a symbolic centre of inclusive resistance, uniting Muslim farmers with Dalit, Adivasi, and other marginalised groups to oppose the KIADB’s (Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board) land acquisition. This intersectional approach underscores land not merely as an economic asset but as a foundation of identity and survival.

This spirit of solidarity extends beyond Devanahalli. The AIMPLB’s interfaith rallies – such as the June 2025 gathering in Hyderabad – brought together Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, Christians, and others, reframing the struggle as a shared fight for constitutional rights and equitable governance. By integrating diverse voices, these alliances challenge communal polarisation and build a narrative rooted in social justice rather than religious division.

Political polarisation remains a significant hurdle, yet through joint advocacy and interfaith mobilisation, these movements resist such divisive strategies, highlighting instead the broader stakes: defending constitutional guarantees, religious autonomy, and fair land policies.

At the heart of these intertwined struggles lies a critique of historical and ongoing land reforms that, despite promises of equity, have often resulted in dispossession through poor record-keeping and state overreach. By uniting across caste and faith lines, these movements amplify demands for transparent governance and social equity, offering a model of inclusive resistance capable of challenging entrenched power structures and advancing justice for all.

Towards Justice: Hope, Risks, and Collective Responsibility

The protests against the Waqf Amendment Act, nearing culmination with the AIMPLB’s 87-day “Save Waqf, Save Constitution” campaign on 7 July 2025, may grow into a nationwide movement reminiscent of the 2020-2021 farmers’ protests. Legal proceedings in the Supreme Court (heard on 15 May 2025) offer a ray of hope; yet there remain genuine concerns – such as communal tensions seen in Murshidabad’s April 2025 clashes and counter-mobilisation by groups like the Hindu Raksha Dal.

Parallel struggles, notably the Devanahalli farmers’ protest – marked by 1,184 days of steadfast resistance, as on 3 July 2025 – risk escalation if the critical meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on 4 July 2025 does not halt land acquisition.

Together, these movements transcend communal boundaries, drawing strength from alliances among Muslim, Dalit, and Adivasi farmers. They represent a shared resistance to state overreach, echoing historical lessons from flawed land reforms.

This moment calls upon every justice-loving citizen of India to support the demand to repeal the Waqf Act’s contentious provisions and halt unjust acquisitions in Devanahalli. Practical steps include signing petitions, following updates on social media, and amplifying marginalised voices. Communities can organise human chains – such as the one planned in Karnataka on 4 July 2025 – and interfaith dialogues to nurture solidarity.

The government, for its part, must ensure transparency in land records, prevent forced evictions, and implement fair policies that genuinely serve the marginalised. People must join hands to transform these parallel struggles into a unified national movement – one where justice, dignity, and inclusiveness are not mere aspirations, but shared realities.

Uniting for a Fair and Equitable Nation

In uniting Muslim protesters against the Waqf Amendment Act with farmers resisting land acquisition in Devanahalli, these parallel struggles reveal a deeper, shared fight for dignity, identity, and constitutional justice. Beyond resisting flawed policies and historical patterns of dispossession, they forge an inclusive alliance of Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, and others who refuse to be divided by communal narratives. At stake is not just land, but the very promise of India’s democracy: that governance must protect, not dispossess, its most vulnerable. As the AIMPLB’s campaign reaches its critical moment and Devanahalli’s farmers face decisive talks, the responsibility now lies with every justice-loving citizen to lend voice and solidarity – transforming scattered protests into a national movement where equity, transparency, and the rights of the marginalised become lived realities, not distant ideals. The time to unite is now, for a nation that thrives on fairness and solidarity.

Chronology of the Movements