Waqf
Topic: Safeguards for Vulnerable Sections: SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities, Women and Children · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A waqf is a permanent dedication of property by a Muslim for religious, pious or charitable purposes. Once property becomes waqf, it is held for that purpose for ever. Managers called mutawallis run it. They work under state Waqf Boards, the Central Waqf Council and Waqf tribunals, as set out in the Waqf Act 1995. Waqf matters because it involves both religious freedom (Arts. 25-26) and the need to stop encroachment on property and its mismanagement.
Example
The Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, also called the UMEED Act, came into force on 8 April 2025. It ended "waqf by user" for the future and added non-Muslim and women members to waqf bodies. On 15 September 2025 the Supreme Court stayed some of its parts but refused to stay the whole Act.
Don't confuse with
- Mutawalli: the person who manages a waqf. The waqf is the dedicated property itself.
Related concepts
- Sachar Committee
- Ranganath Misra Commission (2007)
- Prime Minister's New 15-Point Programme for Minorities
- Religion-based reservation
- Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025