Muslim JAC to organise 'Telangana March' on April 26 against Waqf Amendment Act

Hyderabad: The Muslim Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, under the banner of Tahreek Muslim Shabban, has announced a massive protest march in Hyderabad against the Centre’s recently approved Waqf Amendment Bill.

The ‘Telangana March to Rollback Waqf Amendment Act-2025’ will take place on April 26 at Dharna Chowk, starting 2 pm. The venue for the Telangana March was finalised during the core committee meeting of the JAC held on Monday evening at the head office of Tahreek Muslim Shabban in Azampura, Hyderabad. The meeting was attended by MBT spokesperson Md Amjedullah Khan Khaled, TPCC spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin, Minorities Finance Corporation former Chairman Akbar Hussain, Dr Toufeeq of Wahdat-e-Islami, TPCC Secretary Osman Mohammed Khan, Nazimuddin Farooqi of Muslim Chambers and other eminent personalities.

The announcement was made by JAC convenor and Tahreek Muslim Shabban president Mohammed Mushtaq Malik. He stated that people from all districts of Telangana would participate in the march, which aims to pressurise the Central government to withdraw the controversial legislation. Mushtaq Malik said the march would be bigger than the anti-CAA and NRC protests held in 2019, which were among the largest peaceful agitations in the country. “All political parties except the BJP, including the Congress, BRS, CPI, CPM, as well as leaders from religious institutions, educational bodies, and social organisations, are expected to join the march,” he said.

The main objectives of the Telangana March are to ensure the protection of mosques, dargahs, khanqahs, Ashoorkhanas, graveyards, Waqf properties, religious schools (madrasas), and Eidgahs, which protesters believe are under threat due to the amendment. Warning of grave consequences if the Muslim community remains silent, Malik said, “If we do not rise against this Act, all Waqf properties will be lost. Hindutva forces want to deprive Muslims of their rightful properties. Every Muslim must step out of their homes to resist this attempt.”

In the lead up to the April 26 march, weekly peaceful protests will be held every Friday outside mosques across Telangana. Participants will wear black ribbons and wave black flags as a symbol of protest. Malik emphasised that the agitation would remain completely peaceful. The committee also plans to seek the support of key political leaders, including Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, former CM and BRS president K. Chandrashekar Rao, BRS working president KT Rama Rao, TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud, and leaders from CPI and CPM.

Responding to a question, Mushtaq Malik remarked that “those supporting the Waqf Amendment Act cannot be considered true Muslims.” The protest is shaping up to be one of the largest demonstrations in recent times, with strong participation expected from both Muslims and non-Muslims, who believe in preserving constitutional and minority rights.