India: Muslims Stage Nationwide Blackout in Protest Against Waqf Law
‘Lights Off’ campaign opposes state control over religious endowments, activists call legislation unconstitutional and anti-Muslim
By Abdullahi Yusuf
Muslim communities across India staged a coordinated 15-minute blackout on April 30 in protest of a controversial law that legal experts say threatens the autonomy of religious endowments and marks yet another assault on minority rights.
The protest, called “Batti Gul” (Lights Off), was organized by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and saw widespread participation in cities including Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Aurangabad, Calicut, and Gulbarga.
From 9:00 to 9:15 PM, homes, mosques, shops, offices, and factories in Muslim-majority areas switched off their lights in a coordinated act of civil disobedience.
The blackout was peaceful but symbolically powerful, reflecting growing unrest over the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, which was pushed through Parliament earlier this year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.
The legislation allows the state to assert greater control over Waqf properties—religious endowments that include mosques, graveyards, dargahs, and community trusts—without community consultation.
Muslim leaders and legal experts have condemned the law as a tool for institutional takeover.
“This is not reform—it’s an attempt to seize mosques, graveyards, and community assets under the guise of transparency,” said AIMPLB spokesperson Dr. S.Q.R. Ilyas.
He called the amendments “discriminatory and constitutionally incompatible”.
Protest scenes were reported from university campuses as well.
Students at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) joined the action, turning off lights and chanting slogans like “Kaala kaanon wapas lo” (“Repeal the black law”), framing the legislation as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
In Hyderabad, AIMIM president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi joined the protest, turning off lights at his residence and urging nationwide participation.
“This Act is unconstitutional and will destroy Waqf properties. The protest was a massive success. Even people of other faiths supported it,” Owaisi told reporters.
Owaisi also announced that this was just the beginning of a broader movement.
“We will not stop until the Modi government withdraws this law. Human chains, legal challenges, and public meetings are next,” he said.
The government has defended the law as a move to “modernize and streamline” the management of Waqf properties.
But Muslim leaders and legal experts say that the Modi administration—underpinned by Hindutva ideology—has repeatedly used such legislative tools to undermine Muslim institutions and consolidate state power over minority assets.
The AIMPLB has called the Waqf Act and its amendments a systematic encroachment on Muslims’ religious and cultural rights, vowing to continue peaceful resistance until their demands are heard.
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