India struggles to digitize Islamic Waqf properties as registration portal faces failures
Only 27% of community-owned Waqf properties recorded on new UMEED digital portal, exposing gaps in transparency, technical failures, and political resistance
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — India has fallen short in digitizing Muslim community-owned Waqf properties, with only 216,000 of an estimated 800,000 assets — about 27 percent — successfully registered on the government’s new UMEED portal before the December 5 deadline.
Waqf properties, Islamic charitable endowments, fund mosques, schools, cemeteries, orphanages, and hospitals. India holds one of the world’s largest Waqf networks, but disputes, missing documents, and fragmented state boards have hindered accurate mapping.
The UMEED portal (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development) was launched in June to create a centralized, geo-tagged record to improve transparency and reduce land conflicts. States showed wide disparities: Karnataka uploaded 52,917 properties (81%), Jammu & Kashmir 77%, Punjab 90%, Gujarat 61%, while West Bengal recorded less than 1%. Uttar Pradesh, with over 240,000 properties, recorded only 5% (Sunni) and 11% (Shia). Maharashtra digitized 48%.
Over 517,000 applications were submitted; 10,872 were rejected. More than 213,000 records remain pending verification. Officials reported portal crashes, missing archival documents, and inconsistent measurements.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board requested an emergency government meeting, warning that system failures risk disenfranchising caretakers and misrepresenting ownership. Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced a three-month penalty-free extension.
Analysts say the Waqf Amendment Act centralizes federal control over endowments, enabling state intervention at a time of rising Islamophobic sentiment and land seizures.
Supporters argue digitization curbs corruption, while community groups warn incomplete records could weaken minority control over one of the world’s largest Islamic charitable property systems.
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