As the Munambam land issue becomes a crisis capable of damaging social amity and leading to communal polarization, the state government is intervening to ease tension and iron out differences.

The state government will convene a high-level meeting to discuss the issue next week. The meeting to be convened by the Chief Minister will be attended by Ministers of State holding the portfolios of Waqf, Law and Revenue and representatives of the Kerala Waqf Board. This would be the first formal government intervention on the issue.

Confirming the developments, V. Abdurahiman, Minister of State for Waqf, noted in his social media post on Sunday that the government had “initiated deliberations to amicably resolve the Munambam issue.”

‘Permanent solution’

“The Munambam dispute is being actively examined by the state government. The concerns of all sectors involved will be addressed. No one will be allowed to cause communal division and take political advantage of the situation. Ours is a modern society governed by secular values. Human values ​​and secularism will continue to guide us. The concerns of Munambam residents will be addressed and a permanent solution will be reached,” he said.

Incidentally, various stakeholders such as some sections of the Church and Muslim organisations, including the Indian Union Muslim League, had demanded the government’s intervention in the matter, considering the seriousness of the situation.

The main question

Around 600 families are protesting in Munambam fearing being evicted from their properties, which the Kerala Waqf Board has gazetted as Waqf property. The Sangh Parivar organizations had pledged their support to the residents of Munambam against what they called the junta’s attempts to encroach on the properties. The residents claimed to have purchased the properties from the management of Farook College, Kozhikode, which obtained the land as Waqf (dedication of property to Allah) from Muhammad Siddique Sait in 1950. Questions were also raised over the validity of the Waqf deed. .

Meanwhile, board officials dismissed as baseless the campaign being attempted to evict residents from the properties. The board took no such decision and the matter was pending before various courts, including the Kerala High Court, a senior board official said.