Minorities II: socio-economic status, welfare and the Waqf law

Detail

1. Sachar Committee (2005–2006): measuring Muslim backwardness

• What it was: the Prime Minister's High Level Committee on the social, economic and educational status of Muslims. Justice (Retd.) Rajinder Sachar chaired it. It was set up in March 2005 and reported in November 2006 [3].
• Why it matters: it was the first official study that used data to show where Muslims stood compared with other groups. Before it, the debate was mostly based on opinion.
• Population:
• The 2001 Census counted about 138 million Muslims, roughly 13.4% of India's people [3].

• The committee projected only a modest rise in the Muslim share. It estimated a share of 18–21% by 2101, under different scenarios [3]. (NCERT, Class 10, "Gender, Religion and Caste": a rise of only about 3–4% in the Muslim share over 50 years.) NCERT uses this to counter the fear that Muslims will "outnumber" others.

• Main findings:

• Literacy (2001): 59.1% among Muslims, against a national average of 64.8%. The gap was widest in towns and cities [3].
• Graduation (2001 Census): among people aged 20 and above, 7% of all Indians were graduates or diploma holders, but only 4% of Muslims were [3]. Muslims also had fewer mean years of schooling (the average number of years spent in school).
• Poverty: about 38% of urban Muslims and 27% of rural Muslims lived below the poverty line [3].
• Government jobs: Muslims were very poorly represented in Central Government departments at every level. In no state did their share of government jobs match their share of the population [3]. Sachar recorded only about 3% of IAS and 4% of IPS officers.
• Credit: Muslims got little bank credit, and their average loan was smaller than other groups' [3].
• Formal jobs: most Muslim workers were self-employed or in the informal sector (work with no written contract, social security or fixed pay).

• Comparison: on some measures, Muslims were close to or below SCs and STs.

• Key recommendations:

• Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC): a body to hear complaints of discrimination from deprived groups, including minorities [3].
• National Data Bank: one store of data on all socio-religious groups.
• Assessment and Monitoring Authority: to check whether schemes actually reach minorities.
• Diversity index: a measure of how mixed a workplace, school or housing area is, which could be linked to incentives.
• A review of reserved constituencies, because some seats with large Muslim populations were reserved for SCs.
• A nomination procedure to bring more minorities into public bodies [3].
• Linking madrasas with higher secondary school boards, and accepting madrasa degrees for defence, civil service and banking exams [3].

• Directing bank credit specifically to Muslims [3].

• Follow-up by the government:

• It accepted decisions under five heads: education (15 decisions), skill development (2), access to credit (6), special development initiatives (2) and affirmative action (4). The affirmative action decisions included a National Data Bank and an Assessment and Monitoring Authority [4].
• The EOC Bill was only "under consideration". No EOC law has been passed [4].
• Kundu Committee (2014): a post-Sachar evaluation committee headed by Prof. Amitabh Kundu. It found that progress since 2006 was uneven, and it again recommended an EOC and a diversity index.

2. Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) → PMJVK

• MsDP (2008): an area development programme. It builds schools, health centres and other infrastructure in Minority Concentration Areas (MCAs), meaning places with a high minority population. It does not give benefits to individuals.
• 2018 restructuring: the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs renamed and restructured MsDP as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK). It was to run for the rest of the 14th Finance Commission period [5].
• Coverage widened to 870 Minority Concentration Blocks, 321 Minority Concentration Towns and, for the first time, 109 Minority Concentration District Headquarters [5].
• At least 80% of funds go to education, health and skill development [5].
• 33–40% of funds go to women-centric projects [5].
• Aim: bring these areas up to the national average [5].

3. Ranganath Misra Commission (2007)

• What it was: the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, chaired by former Chief Justice Ranganath Misra. Its report came in 2007 and was tabled in Parliament in 2009.
• Recommendations:
• 15% reservation for minorities in jobs and education, with 10% for Muslims and 5% for other minorities.
• Or, as an alternative, an 8.4% minority sub-quota inside the 27% OBC quota. A sub-quota is a reserved share set aside within an existing quota.

• Delinking SC status from religion. Today, para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 gives SC status only to Hindus, Sikhs (added in 1956) and Buddhists (added in 1990). Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians are left out. The commission wanted this religious bar removed.

• Not implemented.

• The 4.5% sub-quota episode:
• In December 2011, the Centre carved out a 4.5% minority sub-quota within the central OBC quota.
• The Andhra Pradesh High Court struck it down in 2012. The court held that it was based on religion alone and was not backed by data on backwardness.

4. Prime Minister's New 15-Point Programme for Minorities (2006)

• What it is: a programme for the welfare of the six notified minorities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and (since 2014) Jains.
• Core rule: where possible, 15% of targets and outlays in selected schemes are earmarked (set aside) for minorities.
• Schemes covered:
• ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services: nutrition and pre-school care for children and mothers)
• school education
• housing (Indira Awaas Yojana, now PMAY-G)
• livelihood and self-employment programmes
• priority-sector bank credit

• recruitment to police and central forces

• Communal harmony: it also covers preventing communal riots, prosecuting offenders quickly, and giving relief and rehabilitation to victims.

5. Religion-based reservation: what courts allow

• Constitutional frame:
• Arts. 15(1) and 16(2) forbid discrimination on grounds of religion.
• Arts. 15(4) and 16(4) allow special provisions for "socially and educationally backward classes" and backward classes.
• So a group can get a quota because it is backward, but not because of its religion alone.

• Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) held that caste (and a backward group within a religion) can be the basis for identifying a class. It also fixed a 50% ceiling on total reservation.

• What survives: backward sections of a religion listed as OBCs on the basis of data. Example: Kerala's Muslim and Christian OBC groups, which have a share inside the OBC quota.

• What fails: a quota for an entire religion.

State / year	Measure	Outcome
Andhra Pradesh, 2004	5% quota for all Muslims	Struck down by the High Court (no proper backwardness study)
Andhra Pradesh, 2007	4% BC-E quota for 14 backward Muslim groups	Struck down by the High Court in 2010; continues under the Supreme Court's interim order
Centre, Dec 2011	4.5% minority sub-quota within OBC	Struck down by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, 2012
Karnataka	4% Category 2B for Muslims within OBC	Withdrawn in 2023; challenge pending in the Supreme Court
West Bengal	77 classes (mostly Muslim) added to the OBC list after 2010	Struck down by the Calcutta High Court, May 2024; appeal pending in the Supreme Court

6. Waqf: meaning and the 1995 framework

• Waqf: a permanent dedication of movable or immovable property by a Muslim for a purpose that Muslim law treats as religious, pious or charitable. Examples are mosques, graveyards, madrasas and orphanages. Once property becomes waqf, it cannot be sold or gifted.
• Constitutional anchor:
• Charitable and religious endowments fall in the Concurrent List (Entry 28, List III), so both Parliament and the states can make laws on them.

• Art. 26 lets every religious denomination own, acquire and manage property "in accordance with law". So the State can regulate how property is managed.

• Institutions under the Waqf Act, 1995 (amended in 2013):

• Mutawalli: the manager or caretaker of a waqf.
• State Waqf Boards: survey, register and supervise waqfs in each state.
• Central Waqf Council: advises the Centre and the Boards.
• Waqf Tribunals: special courts that decide waqf disputes.

7. Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025: the UMEED Act

• UMEED stands for Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development.
• How it was passed:
• Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2024.
• Sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
• Passed by both Houses in April 2025.
• In force from 8 April 2025.

• The Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923 was repealed at the same time.

• Main changes:

Area	Change
Forming a waqf	"Waqf by user" removed for the future. Waqf can be created only by declaration or endowment. The donor must have practised Islam for at least five years and must own the property [2]
Women heirs	A waqf-alal-aulad (a family waqf for one's descendants) cannot deny female heirs their inheritance [2]
Government land	Government property identified as waqf ceases to be waqf. The Collector (a designated officer) inquires into ownership disputes and reports to the state government [2]
Board composition	Two non-Muslim members; at least one member each from Shias, Sunnis and backward classes of Muslims; one each from Bohras and Agakhanis where they have waqfs; two Muslim women [2]
Separate Boards	Separate Sunni and Shia Boards allowed if Shia waqfs exceed 15% of waqf properties or income in the state. Separate Bohra and Agakhani Boards are also allowed [2]
Section 40	The Board's power to decide on its own whether a property is waqf is removed
Tribunals and appeals	Tribunal decisions are no longer final. Appeal to the High Court within 90 days [2]
Limitation	The Limitation Act, 1963 now applies to waqf claims. This law fixes time limits for filing suits, such as cases to recover encroached land
Accounts and registration	The Centre can make rules on registration and on publishing accounts and Board proceedings. Audits can be done by the CAG or a designated officer [2]. Waqfs must be registered on a central portal

8. Supreme Court interim order (15 September 2025)

• An interim order is a temporary order passed while a case is still being heard.
• No blanket stay: the Court refused to stay the whole Act [6].
• Provisions stayed:
• Five-year-practice condition: stayed until state governments frame rules on how to verify that a person has practised Islam [6].

• Officer's inquiry: the Act let the status of a disputed property be suspended while a government officer inquired into ownership. The Court stayed this as arbitrary [6]. So an officer's report alone cannot end waqf status or change revenue records (land ownership records).

• Caps on non-Muslim members:

• Central Waqf Council: at most 4 non-Muslims out of 22 members [6].

• State Waqf Boards: at most 3 non-Muslims out of 11 [6].

• CEO of the Board: the Court said the Chief Executive Officer should, as far as possible, be a Muslim [6].

• Final hearing on the Act's validity is still pending.

9. The core debate

• Against the Act:
• Art. 26: a denomination's right to manage its own religious affairs and property.
• Art. 25: freedom of religion.
• Art. 14: Hindu and Sikh endowment boards are not required to have members from other faiths, so the Act treats Muslims unequally.

• Ending waqf by user puts old mosques and graveyards without papers at risk.

• For the Act:

• It targets encroachment, mismanagement and poor record-keeping.
• It gives property owners a remedy against arbitrary waqf claims.
• It brings in gender and sect diversity (women, Bohras, Agakhanis, backward Muslims).
• It adds accountability through CAG audit and High Court appeal [2].

Prelims Hooks

• Sachar Committee (2005–06) → Prime Minister's High Level Committee on Muslims; recommended an Equal Opportunity Commission, a National Data Bank and a diversity index. The EOC has still not been set up.
• Sachar data (2001): Muslim literacy 59.1% vs national 64.8%. Only 4% of Muslims were graduates, vs 7% of all Indians.
• Ranganath Misra Commission = National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities. It recommended 15% minority reservation (10% Muslims) or an 8.4% sub-quota within the OBC quota, and delinking SC status from religion (para 3, SC Order 1950).
• 4.5% minority sub-quota (December 2011) → struck down by the Andhra Pradesh High Court (2012).
• PM's New 15-Point Programme (2006) → 15% of targets and outlays earmarked in schemes like ICDS, housing and bank credit. It also covers riot prevention.
• MsDP (2008) → PMJVK (2018): area-based, not individual-based. At least 80% of funds go to education, health and skills.
• UMEED = Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development. In force from 8 April 2025. It repealed the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923.
• Trap: the 2025 Act allows appeal from a Waqf Tribunal to the High Court (within 90 days), not directly to the Supreme Court.
• SC interim order (15 September 2025): at most 4 of 22 non-Muslims on the Central Waqf Council and 3 of 11 on State Boards. The five-year-practice rule is stayed until rules are framed.
• Religious endowments = Concurrent List, Entry 28. Art. 26(d) = the right to administer property "in accordance with law".

Mains Points

• Data before quotas: courts uphold reservation for backward sections within a religion when it is based on data, as with Kerala and Andhra Pradesh's BC-E quota. They reject quotas for a whole religion, as with Andhra Pradesh in 2004 and the Centre's 2011 sub-quota. This follows Arts. 15(1), 15(4) and 16(4) and Indra Sawhney (1992). The way forward is Sachar's National Data Bank and diversity index, not religious labels.
• Sachar's unfinished agenda: the Equal Opportunity Commission has not been set up, and the Kundu Committee (2014) found progress uneven. Most welfare is area-based (PMJVK) or earmarked within schemes (the 15-Point Programme). Critics say this does not reach individuals facing discrimination in jobs, housing and credit.
• Delinking SC status from religion: the Ranganath Misra Commission asked for this to cover Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims. Supporters say caste discrimination continues after conversion. Opponents fear existing SCs will lose benefits, and say untouchability is a Hindu social practice. This connects to the wider debate on SC sub-classification (2024).
• Waqf reform (2025) — autonomy vs accountability: Arts. 25–26 and Art. 14 (parity with Hindu and Sikh endowment laws) are weighed against encroachment, disputes over government land and weak record-keeping. The Supreme Court's middle path (no full stay, caps on non-Muslim members, the five-year rule stayed) shows proportionality (a limit on a right must not go further than its purpose needs). The final verdict will shape how far the State can regulate denominational property.