The Waqf Act: An opportunity to overcome socio-economic gaps

The new law makes space to unlock the potential of community-held assets by deploying them for the upliftment of Muslims

- RAJESH SHUKLA

The Waqf Act of 2025 arrives at a time when India, poised to become the world's third-largest economy, still grapples with deep-rooted socio-economic inequalities. While GDP growth has transformed urban skylines and lifted millions out of poverty, the benefits of this progress have not reached all communities equally. The forthcoming reform of the Waqf system—a vast network of Muslim charitable endowments—could, if implemented thoughtfully, become a tool to address one of the country's most persistent development challenges: the economic marginalization of large segments of India's Muslim population.

Results from the PRICE ICE 360° Survey (2021), one of India's most comprehensive household-level income surveys, underscores the scale and structure of these disparities. The survey reveals that while India's overall per capita income (PCI) stood at 65,859 in 2020-21, Muslims as a group earned just 56,715 on average—about 14% below the national mean. Within the Muslim community, the situation is even more stark for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) Muslims, whose average PCI was only 50,179—the lowest across all socio-religious groups in India.

By contrast, Hindu Upper Castes, who earn 82,749 per capita, enjoy an income level that is 65% higher than that of SC/ST/OBC Muslims. Even among Muslims, a clear intra-group divide exists: upper-caste Muslims earn nearly 50% more than their marginalized co-religionists. These disparities are not just income-based; they reflect structural disadvantages rooted in unequal access to education, formal employment and asset ownership.