The Church of Our Lady of Velankanny is located by the sea, along the stretch from Munambam to Cherai in Kerala’s Ernakulam district. This region is predominantly home to Latin Catholics, a community engaged in fishing, and falls under the Kottapuram diocese.
Munambam and the nearby Cherai beach are popular spots frequented by tourists. The life of residents was mostly peaceful until they got embroiled in a land dispute, thought to be settled decades ago. Problems arose after a court petition said that their homes stand on Waqf property, gifted several decades ago to Farook College in Kozhikode district by a wealthy Muslim man named Muhammed Siddhique Sait. The residents faced legal restrictions from 2022 on paying land taxes on the properties owned by them, since they were listed as Waqf land.
Waqf refers to an endowment made by a Muslim individual for charitable, educational, or religious purposes. The Kerala State Waqf Board, a statutory body constituted by the state government under the Waqf Act 1995, manages several mosques and other Waqf properties. It also has powers to acquire and hold property.
As tensions rose, right-wing Hindu groups arrived, offering support to the Christian residents in a calculated move to exploit religious divisions, though experts are of the view that the Waqf land claim is unlikely to meet legal scrutiny. The massive support for the villagers, who are genuinely concerned about loss of property, from BJP-affiliated groups assumes significance in the wake of proposed amendments to Waqf law.
In August this year, the Union government referred the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 – which proposes sweeping changes on how it is administered – to a joint committee of Parliament after the Opposition called it ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘anti-minority’. The Bill seeks to amend the 1995 Waqf Act, stripping the powers of the Waqf administration and bringing it under the control of the government. On September 28, the echoes of the Munambam protest reached Delhi. Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who has been defending the proposed amendments, posted on X expressing solidarity with those affected by the Waqf land issue in Munambam, promising to address their grievances.
While 600 of the 800 families that are affected are Christians, the rest are from Hindu and Muslim communities. The issue has also given BJP, which had been wooing the Syrian Catholics, an opportunity to get close to the Latin Catholic community.
For Joseph Benny, a local resident, Munambam was the place where his parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived for decades as part of the fishing community that had settled there for livelihood.
More than a century ago the land was owned by Sattar Settu, a merchant in Kochi. Later, it came under the possession of his son-in-law, Muhammed Siddhique Sait. At that time, there were around 14 fishing families residing there. Over the years, the number of families grew.
In November 1950, Siddhique Sait gifted the property to Kozhikode’s Farook College. The land, valued at around Rs 1 lakh, was spread across 404 acres and 74 cents. The deed identified the property as Waqf land and gave the college authorities freedom over transactions on the condition that the income from the land must be used solely for educational purposes.
The settlers, who had been living there for generations, faced significant challenges after this.
“Since the 1950s, the residents have been fighting a battle against Farook College. There were numerous protests, arrests, and for 25 years we lived in constant insecurity. That’s how I remember my younger days. I recall the army being called in when the protests intensified,” said 65-year-old Shyni Martin, a resident of Munambam.
In 1975, the settlers lost the case to Farook College after the Kerala High Court ruled that the college held legal ownership of the land. Following this, full ownership was granted to Farook College, and people—mainly relatives of the original settlers—began buying land and settling down here.
“My grandparents, along with other settlers, purchased the land, paying Rs 250 per cent. The land our family owned has since been divided. I now live in a 4-cent plot and my son owns another 4 cents,” Shyni said.
“All of them have proper title deeds and full rights to conduct any transaction,” Joseph added.
Since 1975, numerous land transactions have been done. Some families sold their land or partitioned it while others took loans by pledging them. “There are properties here that have changed hands eight to 11 times,” said Sebastian, another resident.
In 2008, Nassir Manayil, a former member of the Waqf Board, approached VS Achuthanandan, the then Chief Minister, alleging mismanagement of Waqf properties. The state government appointed a commission headed by Justice MA Nissar to look into the ‘irregularities’ in the functioning of the Waqf board.
“The Justice MA Nissar Commission, submitted an inaccurate and biased report, stating that the property was indeed Waqf. However, we were completely unaware about the commission — and none of the commission members or authorities contacted us,” alleged Joseph.
It wasn’t until 2019 that the Waqf Board officially registered the land as their property, claiming it had been alienated. Even then, the people living there had no knowledge of the claim.
“In 2022, when we went to the village office to pay property taxes, we were informed of this legal issue for the first time. They refused to accept our tax payments. We were shocked, and that’s when our protests began,” Joseph said.
Protests continued to happen silently though residents were eventually allowed to pay taxes after court intervention. The documents listed them as ‘encroachers’.
In 2022, Nassir Manayil and TM Abdul Salam, secretary and president of the Waqf Samrakshana Vedi, an organisation to protect Waqf properties, moved the High Court. They challenged the High Court’s interim stay, which prevented residents from paying their taxes. Manayil and Salam accused the Waqf Board of failing to protect its properties and argued that for any Waqf property transaction, Mutawalli, the Waqf manager, must have the board’s approval, which had not been obtained in this case.
Twenty-six-year-old Rehna, an MSc Biotechnology graduate, lives with her husband and son on a 4-cent plot of land near the church. She has been trying to migrate abroad but the legal dispute has prevented her from getting a loan.
“We spent a lot of money, and everything was ready in 2020. But then COVID-19 hit and we couldn’t migrate. Two years later, we applied for a loan by mortgaging the property but it was rejected. Many others in the region are in a trap as their properties have suddenly lost value,” Rehna said.
The concerns of the people are real and valid. However, the issue flared up recently after letters were sent to the Joint Secretary of the Lok Sabha Secretariat by Andrews Thazhath, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church and the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC). The letter said that around 600 Christian families in Munambam and Cherai are at risk of losing their properties.
Archbishop Thazhath, representing the Syro-Malabar Public Affairs Commission, urged the Joint Parliamentary Committee to intervene, calling for an amendment to the Waqf Act of 1995 on “humanitarian and constitutional principles”. The letter emphasised the need to prevent further distress to affected families.
Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, who represents the KCBC, also issued a statement blaming the Waqf Board. “Since 2022, the enforcement of the Waqf Law has brought considerable hardship to these families who are enduring immense distress and uncertainty due to unjust claims on their properties by the Waqf Board,” the letter stated. The KCBC described the claims as “unjust and unconstitutional” and called for a review and amendment of the Waqf law to prevent similar situations in the future.
On September 28, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju shared these letters on X (formerly Twitter) and said: “The issue of Waqf land has been affecting people across communities. I am pained to see eminent Christian leaders having to express their anguish in this manner. I assure them that their grievances will be addressed.”
He added, “We will ensure justice for everyone, following PM @narendramodi Ji’s mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.”
This development has added a new political dimension to the ongoing dispute.
On the morning of October 5, as TNM was meeting people for this story, VV Augustine, chairman of the National Progressive Party (NPP), visited the Church of Our Lady of Velankanny along with some party workers. One of the workers introduced himself to Assistant Vicar Antony Thomas, saying that the party is “aligned with the church and also connected with the BJP.” Formed in 2022, the little known NPP is chaired by Johny Nellore, a former Kerala Congress politician. While VV Augustine is a former president of BJP’s Minority Morcha in Kerala, the party had denied links with BJP despite rumours of having links to the saffron party.
Speaking to TNM, Augustine said, “NPP will take up this issue as a case study of how Christians in Kerala are under threat, and we will use this as the starting point for our campaign.”
After a brief meeting with the priest, Augustine promised him and residents leading the protest that NPP would sponsor flex boards to be placed along the roads leading to the coastal area. “There are six roads connecting this settlement, and people passing by should be aware of the issue. There will also be intelligence surveillance by central agencies here and they will provide reports. People should not think the protests are over,” Augustine said.
The same day, representatives of Yuva Morcha, BJP’s youth wing, also visited the residents offering help for the protests.
Many political leaders, including Opposition leader VD Satheesan, Tourism Minister Muhammed Riyas, and Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, have visited the affected residents. However, BJP-affiliated groups have been the most vocal, joining the residents in protest and framing the issue as conflict between Christians and Muslims. These groups are attempting to convince the Christian community that Waqf laws are a threat to other communities and should be amended.
The Congress and LDF leaders who visited Munambam warned the residents not to fall for the Sangh Parivar agenda and communalise the highly sensitive issue.
A priest from the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese told TNM that the Sangh Parivar has been using this issue as a political tool to get closer to the Latin Catholic community. “The Sangh Parivar has found a way to reach the Syro-Malabar Catholic community in Kerala. There are Christian right-wing groups like Christian Association & Alliance for Social Action (CASA) that are indirectly and directly supported by the Church. However, until now these groups have struggled to make inroads among Latin Catholics, especially those living in coastal areas. We saw how Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor won from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency,” he said. It was votes from the coastal region that helped Tharoor win the election.
In Munambam, such groups have found some success. Protesters have started supporting Sangh-affiliated groups due to a growing sense of insecurity. “We will stand with anyone who helps us. Our family has always been traditionally aligned with the Congress and we never considered switching sides, but now we feel forced to,” said Shyni.
Joseph echoed this sentiment, stating that they would support anyone who stands by them. Protest leaders are also pushing for amendments to the Waqf Act, particularly the proposed Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, which would limit the Waqf Board’s power to declare properties as Waqf land.
Joseph alleged that political parties except the BJP and much of Kerala’s media are ignoring this issue “as part of their Muslim appeasement.”
Representatives from the BJP’s Minority Morcha who visited the church while TNM was present claimed that similar movements are underway concerning Waqf properties in other districts as well.
When asked about the Church’s stance on Sangh groups potentially hijacking the protest and the role of CASA – which is running an online campaign – Assistant Vicar Antony Thomas said, “Every community has fringe elements. In CASA’s case, they have issues like ‘Love Jihad,’ which make them oppose a particular community. In this case, yes, some campaigns have taken on a communal tone, but we’ve maintained a peaceful atmosphere here.”
Since the last week of September, CASA has been actively campaigning on social media against Waqf claims on the land.
One post by CASA read: “The initiative to resolve the land dispute between the Waqf Board and the residents of Munambam under the guise of reconciliation efforts, led by the government, is a strategy to deceive the poor residents of Munambam for the benefit of politicians and religious fundamentalists.” Social media posts by CASA also advocated amendments to Waqf laws.
A lawyer who appears for Muslim organisations told TNM that the Waqf Board’s claim on the properties may not hold up in court.
“The Waqf Board doesn’t have the authority to claim ownership of the property. In this case, they are arguing that the property should revert to Farook College. However, the college management has clarified that the property is not Waqf—they sold it and with the proceeds they purchased another plot of land in Kozhikode,” the lawyer explained.
The lawyer also mentioned that while Siddhique Sait, who gifted the land to Farook College in 1950, referred to the property as Waqf land, the deed does not fully support the Waqf claims. “In the 1950s, the concept of Waqf was still evolving. Being religious, Sait might have used the term ‘Waqf’ instead of ‘charity.’ The document gives Farook College full rights to handle transactions. In 1975, the High Court granted complete ownership to Farook College, which then sold the land. Additionally, these transactions took place before the 1995 Waqf Act and the 2013 amendments, which cannot be applied retroactively,” he added.
The lawyer pointed out that at the time of transferring the property to Farook College, Sait did not have possession of the land, as there were already settlers living there—he only had ownership. According to Waqf law, a property can only be designated as Waqf if the person making the endowment has both possession and ownership.
“Waqf property cannot be reclaimed or transacted. In Sait’s agreement, he granted transaction rights to the college and even included a clause stating that if the college no longer needed the land, his family could reclaim it. Both of these conditions go against Waqf principles, so merely labelling a document as Waqf doesn’t make it a Waqf property,” the lawyer said.
“This is not a communal issue, it is a legal issue which should be fought legally. When the transactions happened, the 1954 Waqf Act, which was later repealed, was in vogue. A new Act was brought in its place in 1995, so the 1954 Act will be applicable for any transaction before this. The Waqf board listed the property only in 2019,” said the lawyer, who requested anonymity.
MP Hibi Eden does not think that the controversies over the proposed Waqf Bill is connected to the controversy in Munambam. “Here, the BJP is trying to create conflict between the Muslim and Christian communities. No Muslim organisation has approached or claimed the land. This is not Wakf land in the first place. The fishermen community has lived here for centuries. Organisations like the Indian Union Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami have made it clear that it is not Islamic to take back the land,” Hibi said.
The MP alleged that Justice MA Nissar, whose report identified the land in Munambam as Waqf property, was close to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The land in Munambam was listed as Waqf property by the Kerala Waqf Board when TK Kamza, a senior CPI(M) leader, was its chairman, he alleged.
“We have offered them all legal help. My wife is part of the team of S Sreekumar, the lawyer representing the affected residents in the High Court. We need a legal remedy, and the government of Kerala should form a new committee to study the issue,” Hibi said.
He said that the Congress opposed the new Wakf Bill because it included non-Muslim members. “Would people agree if non-Hindus were included in Devaswom boards?” he asked. “The plight of Munambam residents is genuine and I have appraised Congress representatives in the Joint Parliamentary Committee. The Sangh Parivar and BJP are trying to fool the people of Munambam, they want to exploit this situation for their political agenda,” he added.
Though Sait had donated around 400 acres of land, residents believe only around 100 acres remain today while the rest has been lost in sea erosion. Shyni recalled, “When I was a child, the sea was right in front of our house. Now it has receded, and two roads and some additional land have emerged. But in many other areas, large portions have eroded and a lot of land has been lost. This is a small area, certainly not 400 acres.”
Sebastian and Joseph also remember areas that were dry during their childhood but have since disappeared into the Arabian Sea.
The lawyer representing Muslim political outfits echoed this, telling TNM, “I’ve heard that the Waqf board had said that any land without settlements in them should be reclaimed immediately, but there’s no such land here—it has been eaten up by the sea.”