HYDERABAD: Congress MLC Amer Ali Khan will lead a two-day awareness rally from Adilabad to Hyderabad on April 14 and 15 to protest against the Waqf Amendment Act, which he described as a serious attack on the constitutional rights of Muslims in India.
Organised under the slogan “Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan,” the rally coincides with the birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and aims to draw attention to the threat the new legislation poses to the autonomy of Waqf institutions and the fundamental rights of Muslims guaranteed by the Constitution.
Amer Ali Khan announced that the rally would commence at 9:00 AM on April 14 from Adilabad and reach Nirmal by the afternoon. The convoy would then proceed to Nizamabad at 3:00 PM. On April 15, it will continue from Nizamabad to Kamareddy at 9:00 AM and from there to Hyderabad at 3:00 PM.
He stated that the Waqf Amendment Act, passed by the BJP-led Central Government, was not merely a legal reform but a deliberate attempt to undermine the Muslim community by removing the authority of Waqf Boards and placing their institutions under central control. He asserted that the legislation violated Articles 25, 26, 29, and 30 of the Constitution, which ensure religious freedom, cultural rights, and the autonomy of minority institutions.
Amer Ali Khan alleged that the Central Government was targeting the Waqf system because it represented one of the largest institutional frameworks within the Muslim community. He warned that Waqf properties, built over generations through public donations and religious endowments, were being eyed for political and commercial gain. The new law, he claimed, granted unchecked authority to the Centre and severely weakened State Waqf Boards, thereby exposing the community to institutional disempowerment.
He said the Indian Constitution guarantees all minorities, including Muslims, the right to practise their religion, preserve their culture and language, and independently manage their religious and educational institutions. He described the Waqf Amendment Act as a direct violation of this constitutional safeguard. “What is at stake is not just Waqf—it is our identity, our heritage, our freedom. The community must not remain silent,” he said.
Explaining his decision to start the rally on April 14, Ambedkar Jayanti, Amer Ali Khan said it was a tribute to the architect of the Constitution. He emphasised that Dr B.R. Ambedkar had ensured legal protection for minorities, and any attack on those rights was a betrayal of his legacy. He added that the slogan “Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan” symbolised the unity of Gandhian and Ambedkarite values—justice, equality, and religious freedom. The rally, he said, aimed to remind the people of Telangana and the nation that the Constitution cannot be tailored to fit one ideology.
The MLC stated that the two-day rally would involve direct engagement with local communities, students, lawyers, and religious scholars in Adilabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, and Kamareddy. The objective, he said, was to generate mass awareness to resist the amendment legally, socially, and politically.
He appealed to Muslims, Dalits, backward classes, civil rights groups, and all citizens who uphold the Constitution to unite in peaceful protest against the Act. He warned that silence now would result in irreversible damage. “This is not just a rally. This is a constitutional duty. The Muslim community must realise that if Waqf is taken away today, our educational, religious, and social future will be destroyed tomorrow,” he said.
He affirmed that the rally from Adilabad to Hyderabad marked only the beginning of a broader movement. He described the campaign to protect the Waqf system as essential to preserving the Constitution itself. “Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan is not just a slogan. It is a declaration that we will not surrender our rights, our institutions, or our future,” he concluded.
