UP Waqf Board claims ownership of 115-year-old Varanasi college

Varanasi (UP): The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has claimed that a mosque on a college campus here and the land in its vicinity are Waqf properties, a charge rejected by the college administration.

A notice was sent to the Udai Pratap College in 2018, claiming that the mosque on its campus and the college land were donated to the Waqf Board by the nawab of Tonk and therefore, the college campus is Waqf property, principal D K Singh said.

"The notice came from Varanasi resident Wasim Ahmed Khan. The then secretary of the college had responded to the notice, saying the mosque was built illegally and the property of the college belonged to a trust and it could neither be bought nor sold," he added.

Singh said the Waqf Board tried to build a mosque in 2022 but police stopped it after the college administration complained. The principal alleged that the mosque is stealing electricity from the college and using it illegally. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Varuna zone, C K Meena, said the dispute dates back to 2022, when the mosque's construction was stopped on the college administration's complaint. Manaur Rahman, a regular visitor to the mosque, said the Waqf Board has staked claim over the mosque and a few acres of land in front of the structure. "This mosque was the property of the nawab of Tonk. The college had given us the electricity connection following a mutual agreement between the college and the mosque administration. The college administration cut off the power connection a few days ago," he said.

The Udai Pratap Autonomous College was conceptualised and created by Rajarshi Udai Pratap Singh Judeo to promote education to enrich society with the value system of this region. Judeo founded the Hewett Kshatriya High School in Varanasi in 1909 and it was raised to the level of an intermediate college in 1921 and rechristened as Udai Pratap Intermediate College.

The institution was further elevated to the level of a degree college in 1949, when it commenced undergraduate classes for Arts and Commerce. Recently, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed the 115th foundation day programme of the college.