Hyderabad- Three men were sitting near the entrance of Dabirpura Bada Kabristan, a 400-year-old graveyard older than Charminar, monitoring all who came to visit it. Meanwhile, they were commenting on how vast the graveyard was once, and now, the land has been taken over by the roads and buildings edging its boundaries inwards.
When asked about the encroachment upon Muslim graveyards, a 51-year-old resident of Karwan Sahu replied, “Yeh to gali gali mein ho raha hai.” One of the main reasons cited by the central government for bringing the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 is the lack of protection of the Waqf institutions by the Waqf bodies. As per the latest data from the Waqf Management System of India (WAMSI) Project, there are 166 graveyards in the Charminar sub-district alone. Almost all the graveyards are either fully or partially encroached, as stated by the CEO of Telangana State Waqf Board (TGSWB), Mohammed Assadullah.
The graveyard near Dargah Hazarat Khaja Ali Peeran situated at Amlapur, Karwan Sahu, is being encroached on by the local land mafia despite receiving a stay from the High Court in 2021. The graveyard accounts for six acres and 20 guntas(one gunta is 1/8th of an acre) as per Kitabul Aukaf or The Book of Waqfs register. “These land grabbers have formed a self-styled committee,” said Mir Hyder Ali Razvi, a Waqf activist, “and they demand hefty prices for burial spaces- some up to Rs 10,000.”
When asked about the Karwan Sahu case, Dr. Syed Nisar Hussain Agha, a board member of TGSWB, replied, “It’s happening every day.”
Graveyards are old. Agha said, “There are many cases in which the Waqf properties aren’t registered- even 100-year-old ones.” This practice of long-term use, without a formal written deed, is termed “Waqf by the user,” which was legalised by the Waqf Act, 1995 but removed from the recent Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
As per the Sachar Committee report, 2006, records of Waqf properties are not well maintained. Despite being listed in statutory surveys, properties are often not registered as Waqf in revenue records, which accounts for prolonged legal battles.
Assadullah stated that TGSWB still identifies the data from the first survey completed in 1989, in which there were 513 graveyards in the Hyderabad district. “The second survey data hasn’t been materialised in the gazettes.” This lack of clarity was observed in their uncertainty about the extent of graveyards under encroachment. Advocate Mohammed Abdul Shakeel has a handful of experience in Waqf-related cases. He said, “Sometimes the Waqf board is unaware of the property and the encroachment.”
“Meanwhile, the encroachers register the land under their name,” Agha said. He explained, “Suppose a Waqf property is registered as Survey No. is 100 by 11. The encroachers bend the rules and register the plot as 100 by 11 by 2. Though they claim it as their property, the number would still be 100 by 11 in our gazette.”
Mateen Shareef, a senior member of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee(TPCC), is one of the petitioners of a case claiming six acres 18 guntas land as Waqf graveyard, at the Roshan-ud-Daula village, in Ranga Reddy district. He accused his opponent of submitting fake documents, though the court has not proved it.
“It is tough to prove a fake registration, especially when that document is from before 1975 and with a thumb impression,” he said. “Waqf Board is nothing but land mafia,” said Razvi.
Daira Mir Momin, one of the oldest graveyards in Hyderabad, dated 400 years old, “was earlier spread over 20 acres of land, now it is only below 12 acres,” said Agha Alamdar, who is the ex-Vice President of the Daira Mir Momin Managing Committee.
A couple of graveyards can be seen between the streets, “indicating that those areas were also part of the graveyard,” said Razvi. “About 20% of the compound has boundary walls, and the other sides are bordered with buildings.”
“The encroachers have also taken the pipes between the graves, causing drainage issues,” said Alamdar. He argued that since Daira Mir Momin is managed by the Shia community (though graves of Sunnis are there as well), they are facing neglect from the state Waqf board, which is Sunni-dominant.
Alamdar also claimed that the state government had sanctioned Rs. 30,00,000 for the construction of compound walls, which was obstructed by the local MLA from the AIMIM party. He said, “TGSWB is in the clutches of the (AI)MIM party and Sunnis.”
“I have filed two cases in the Waqf tribunal related to Daira Mir Momin and
approximately 40 other waqf related cases, yet there’s no transparency or accountability from them,” he said.
Agha, also an (AI)MIM member, countered, “It’s happening everywhere in Telangana, irrespective of the place or religion. (AI)MIM has nothing to do with these encroachments.”
The Waqf body has to appoint a Mutawalli(caretaker) and a managing committee for each Waqf institute. Advocate Shakeel pointed out that all the graveyard encroachment activities are done with Mutawalli’s knowledge. He said, “The encroachers, first, construct malgi around a
disputed graveyard land or the untended ones, slowly entering the periphery.”
Not just the Mutawalli or Waqf officials, he added, “Sometimes activists show interests differently- they too become a part of the land grabbing.”
When asked about the follow-up of a case of encroachment over Koudi Shah graveyard by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Chatrinaka police quarters, TGSWB chairperson, Syed Azmathullah Hussaini, replied that he “isn’t aware of such a case.”
Earlier this year, he had visited the site along with the task force.
Hussaini claimed fewer encroachment cases in graveyards than in Eidgah (site for Eid prayers), as graveyards are sentimental.
The officials at the Department of Minority Welfare, Telangana, dodged accountability, saying that these operational matters are “wholly handled by the Waqf board.” Assadullah stated that TGSWB currently deals with 3500 plus cases in various courts and 10 below cases in the Supreme Court on different issues. “Waqf board isn’t legally or financially or in terms of manpower, in a position to curtail encroachment,” he said. “Also, people’s donations to Waqf graveyards are declining to almost zero as land is scarce, and the value of land is increasing.”
In 2023, the then-Telangana government ordered 125 acres of land for Muslim graveyards on the city’s outskirts. TGSWB plans to utilise those lands as “the burial spaces in the Old City are almost full, and it’s difficult to acquire more lands in the city,” said Hussaini.
Hussaini admits that the Waqf body has some mismanagement. But the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 is not a solution as the new Act is more of a weapon against the minority Muslim community, he commented.
He explained, “On average, a case takes six to eight years in the court, and by then, the encroachers would already have settled on the land. That’s why we’ve been demanding executive magisterial power to counter the encroachers timely.”
As per the Waqf Act 1995, every state has a Waqf Tribunal. The CEO of the Waqf body would refer cases to the Tribunal, led by a judge (Class-1, District, Sessions, or Civil Judge), and include a state officer of Additional District Magistrate rank and a Muslim law expert.
As per the 1995 Act, decisions of the Tribunal cannot be appealed in a higher court but can be placed for revisionary jurisdiction. However, the new Act allows appeals to the High Court within 90 days.
Accordingly, it also gives authority to the district collectors to determine the ownership of the disputed land.
“A major part of the encroachers is the government itself,” Hussaini said.
“If the full power for inquiry and survey is given to collectors, basically the government, would it be possible to get justice? The accused and the justice provider are the same,” he added.
- Ameena Resh is a freelance journalist with a Master's in Communication, exploring intersections of caste, class, and power. Her work is driven by a commitment to amplifying neglected, people-driven stories that mark their presence in the world.
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