The Social and Economic status of religious minorities in

India

Submitted To
Prof. Dr. Eritriya Roy
(Faculty Economics)

Submitted By
IMRAN AHMED KHAN
B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)
Semester – III, Section A, Batch XVIII
Roll no. 56
ECONOMICS PROJECT

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

Uparwara, Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this research work titled “The Social and Economic status of religious
minorities in India” is my own work and represents my own analysis of ideas, and where
others’ ideas or words have been included, I have adequately cited and referenced the original
sources. I also declare that I have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity
and have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/source in my
submission.

Imran Ahmed Khan

Roll no. 56

Section A, Batch XVIII

B.A.LLB (Hons.)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The practical realization of this project has obligated the assistance of many persons. I express
my deepest regard and gratitude for Prof. Dr. Eritriya Roy. Her consistent supervision,
constant inspiration and invaluable guidance have been of immense help in understanding
and carrying out the nuances of the project report.

I would like to thank my family and friends without whose support and encouragement, this
project would not have been a reality.

I take this opportunity to also thank the University and the Vice Chancellor for providing
extensive database resources in the Library and through Internet. I would be grateful to
receive comments and suggestions to further improve this project report.

I feel highly elated to work on the topic “The Social and Economic status of
religious minorities in India”.

Imran Ahmed Khan

Roll no. 56

Section A, Batch XVIII

B.A.LLB (Hons.)
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents Pages

o Declaration -
o Acknowledgements -
o Introduction 1

o Literature Review 3

o Objectives of Study 4

o Research Methodology 5

o Scope and Limitations of the Study 6

o Organization of study 7

o Bibliography 19
 INTRODUCTION
In some Articles, India's Constitution utilizes the term ' minority ' or its plural form – Articles
29 to 30 and 350A to 350 B but it refrains from explicitly defining it anywhere. In common
language, the term "minority" means a group comprising less than half of the population and
differing from others in race, religion, traditions and culture, language, etc., especially the
predominant section. A unique Sub-Committee on the Protection of Minority Rights appointed
by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1946 described the ' minority ' as those
' non-dominant groups in a population wishing to maintain stable ethnic, religious and linguistic
traditions or features that differ significantly from those of the remainder of the population.
Six religious groups, including Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Zoroastrians (Parsis) a
nd Jains, were notified as minority groups under Section 2(c) of the National Minority Comm
ission Act, 1992. 1 Each and every community notified under this act is considered to be a
religious minority in India. Each one of them is having its own history, culture, tradition,
identity etc. which has been mandated under the Constitution of India to be protected by the
State under Article 29 and 30 of Indian Constitution. Under the chairmanship of Justice
Ranganath Misra, the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM)
proposed interventions for the welfare of socially and economically backward segments of
religious and linguistic minorities in 2007.2 On 18.12.2009, the same report was put on the
Table of both Parliament Houses. The NCRLM's findings on minority conditions are available
in the report. The Ranganath Mishra Commission has been given the chance to reiterate,
accurate and reinforce our country's civil structure— a goal required by our Constitution. We
had a chance to follow a gradual move and establish a just and equitable social order that did
not succumb to religion-based requirements.
Apart from Ranganath Mishra Commision, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh named a high-
level commission in March 2005 to develop a study on Indian Muslims ' social, economic and
educational status. In November 2006, Justice Rajinder Sachar (retired) led the 7-member
commission presented its study to the Prime Minister. The committee’s report was specifically
created to bring out the social and economic status of Muslims in India. It covered the topics
such as Myth of Muslim appeasement, Muslim backwardness being a National Problem,
Identity Related Concerns, Security Related Concerns, Equity Related Issues, Population Size,
Distribution, Health Conditions of Muslims, Educational Conditions of Muslims, etc. Even
though both of these reports have not been implemented anywhere in any state in their entirety
but it pertinent to mention the contents, suggestion, techniques for implementation, etc.
mentioned in these two reports as they are the only two primary documents which brings out
the factual reality of the social and economic status of minorities in India.
The economic and social conditions of religious minorities in India differs from community to
community and from state to state. Some of the communities among the religious minorities as
described above are well off while others are living in a dismal condition. A lot of factors are

1
Government of India Ministry of Minority Affairs “Status of Conditions of Minorities”, accessed on 29.08.2019
https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=124826#targetText=Six%20religious%20communities%20vi
z%20Muslims,Commission%20for%20Minorities%20Act%2C%201992.&targetText=The%20findings%20of%20t
he%20NCRLM,are%20available%20in%20the%20report.
2
Ibid

1|Page
responsible for the current dismal condition of a lot of religious minorities ranging from their
historical background to the present political scenario.

2|Page
 LITERATURE REVIEW
1.) Manzoor Alam, Muslims in India since Independence, keynote address of National
Seminar, Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi, 1998.
Dr. Mohd. Manzoor Alam, Chairman IOS, delivered the presidential address in which
he vowed to do utmost for the noble cause of empowerment of Indian Muslims for
national benefit. He announced that the Empowerment series of eleven books would be
completed by the end of the year. The process of translation of the books is in progress.
He added that the other projects suggested by Mr. Hamid were under IOS consideration.
The programme was summed up by the vote of thanks by Prof. Z.A. Nizami.
2.) Moin Shakir, Muslims in Free India, Ajanta, Delhi 1979
Basically, this paper will deal with the pathetic situation of Indian Muslim in general
and Muslim women in particular. The last seventy years after the independence of this
country the situation of Muslim women hardly achieved much despite the inclusive
character of this country. The problem comes from within the Muslim community’s
religious and political leadership which hardly raised the issue of development, but
more focused on their religious agendas rather than the inclusive development of the
community. In spite of the fact, that the Islam has given too much emphasis on
education and equality. In the field of education, economic grown and health Muslim
women more deprived in comparison to the other community.
3.) Mumtaz Ali Khan, Planning Process and Muslim Responses in Rural Karnataka
ICSSR Project Report, 1991
As change agents, individuals and organizations need to come out with programs new
initiatives that will cater to the development of Muslim community, Mobilize and build
awareness on their rights, welfare programs and schemes – PMs 15-point program,
develop community leadership build linkages and network, create secular and
democratic space for dialogue. There is an urgent need to urge government to have
policy for the development of the Muslims, to allocate development fund in proportion
to minority population, to create awareness, to involve panchayats in implementing
welfare programs to, formulate new guidelines and norms, to setup proper
implementing mechanisms and institutions, to monitor the programs, to have Separate
minor head and budget statement to be introduce on welfare of minorities in budget, to
make the application process simple and setup entitlements centres in all the panchayats
to facilitate access to entitlements through entitlement centres.
4.) Seema Chisti “Even if Govt. is Employer, Muslims Fall off Job Map”, Indian Express,
Delhi Edition, October 30, 2006
Muslims across India are severely under-represented in government employment,
including PSUs, compared to the percentage of their population in a state. While this
may not appear unusual given the overall poverty and lack of education in the
community, the startling fact is that this under-representation is also evident —
sometimes in more stark a fashion — in states where the political establishment has
made Muslim welfare a key part of its charter. When it comes to Public Sector Units
(PSUs), often discussed by parties as the "built-in economic safety net," the figures are
equally dismal. The highest percentage of Muslims in "higher positions" in state PSUs
is in Kerala with 9.5 percent and the lowest is West Bengal which has reported 0 (zero)
percent of Muslims in higher positions in state PSUs.

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 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
1.) To study the historical background of underprivileged religious minorities of India.
2.) To study the Constitutional and legislative provisions regarding the minorities.
3.) To study the Status of religious minorities in India on different social and economic
parameters.
4.) To analyse the data presented by various committees set up by the government along
with NGOs on the condition of religious minorities in India.
5.) To study the Measures taken by government to address the grievances of religious
minorities.

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 RESEARCH METHEDOLOGY
This Research Project is descriptive and doctrinal in nature. The fact that differentiation in
Indian society takes several forms, the Committee has analysed the conditions of religious
minorities in a comparative perspective. Data has been collected from various government
departments and institutions at the Centre and the State levels for information on employment,
Banks, Financial Institutions, Educational Institutions and Public Sector Undertakings
development programmes and democratic participation in governance. The report is based
mainly on the analysis of large scale surveys and the Indian Census data. The most prominent
among them is the data collected in various surveys by the National Sample Survey
Organization (NSSO). In addition, we have also used the estimates from the National Family
Health Surveys (NFHS) and the surveys undertaken by the National Council of Applied
Economic Research (NCAER), National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT) and the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA).
The structure of the project, as instructed by the Faculty of Economics has been adhered to and
the same has been helpful in giving the project a fine finish off.

5|Page
 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
As author moved forward with the project it came to realisation that it would be much more
important to restrict the focus of the project towards the underprivileged religious minorities
rather than covering every aspect of every religious minority of India. The need for such
limitation was the constrain of time and lack of availability of data.

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 ORGANISTAION OF STUDY

Chapter I: Historical backgrounds of the underprivileged religious

minorities-
There is nothing distinctive about the Muslim backwardness in the historical framework. India
was always a predominantly agrarian society, and groups, Hindus and Muslims alike, were
more or less destined to reside in financial hardship. What is exceptional about Muslim
backwardness, however, is that it went from poor to worse as the other groups in India,
particularly Hindus, gradually emerged from it or at least created attempts in that path, raising
two major problems. One, the institution did nothing significant, both overseas and indigenous,
to avoid Muslims ' spiral. Two, there was no major effort within the Muslim community that
managed to enhance the position of its members due to its conservative view.
While there is some proof to demonstrate that Muslim populations have prospered previously,
the Muslim backwardness is generally attributed back to the wake of 1857, when British
realized that the unplanned Uprising had a predominant Muslim element and decided to
chastise community for its anti-establishment role. And this chastisement was so rough that the
famous Urdu writer Mirza Ghalib, who witnessed British vengeance's macabre ceremony,
penned “Here there is a vast ocean of blood before me, God alone knows what more I have to
behold”3. British grasped the relevance of maintaining Hindus and Muslims separated after the
Uprising. An important aspect of the Muslim chastisement was also the promotion of Hindus
in the administration “all sorts of employments great and small are being gradually snatched
away from me Mohammadans and bestowed on men of other races particularly the Hindus.”4
Partition and subsequent creation of Pakistan compounded the problems of Muslims both at
psychoneurotic as well as economic levels. The creation of Pakistan and the treatment of
minorities over there gave the zealots amongst Hindus in India to take a cue from these
developments. So when Golwarkar said, “Right from its inception it (Pakistan) has been
indulging in inhuman atrocities and religious domination of the worst type on its hapless
minority…”5, it is not hard to understand why it carried such penetrating appeal for an ordinary
Hindu. Thanks to the violence and bitterness bred in its wake, it made the Muslims in India just
‘Muslims’ with nobody caring to differentiate between them based on their caste and
occupational markers6. In fact, in the eyes of a Hindu who was increasingly moving to a rightist
position after partition, the entire Muslim community that stayed back was implicit supporter
of Pakistan. The impact of these incidents can be seen through the naked eye in any sector of
the Indian Economy. Let’s take banking sector as a sample. the average amount of bank loan
disbursed to the Muslims is 2/3 of the amount disbursed to other minorities and in some cases
it is half. Some banks that call themselves professional have marked out Muslim localities as
‘negative zones’ where bank credit and other facilities are not generally given.

3
P. Hardy, “The Muslims of British India,” Foundational Books, 1998, pp.70
4
W.W. Hunter, “The Indian Musalmaans,” Trubar and Company, London, 1876, pp.161
5
M.S. Golwarkar, “Bunch of Thoughts”, Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana, Bangalore, pp. 261
6
Gyanendra Pandey, op. cit., pp.614

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 Chapter II: Constitutional and legislative provisions regarding the
minorities.
The Constitution of India uses the word ‘minority’ or its plural form in some Articles – 29 to
30 and 350A to 350 B – but does not define it anywhere. Article 29 has the word “minorities”
in its marginal heading but speaks of “any sections of citizens…. having a distinct language,
script or culture.” This may be a whole community generally seen as a minority or a group
within a majority community. Article30 speaks specifically of two categories of minorities –
religious and linguistic. The remaining two Articles – 350A and 350B relate to linguistic
minorities only.
A special Sub-Committee on the Protection of Minority Rights appointed by the United Nations
Human Rights Commission in 1946 defined the ‘minority’ as those “non-dominant groups in
a population which possess a wish to preserve stable ethnic, religious and linguistic traditions
or characteristics markedly different from those of the rest of population.”
The National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 says that “Minority for the purpose of the
Act, means a community notified as such by the Central Government”- Section 2(7). Acting
under this provision on 23-10- 1993, the Central Government notified the Muslim, Christian,
Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi (Zoroastrian) communities to be regarded as “minorities” for the
purpose of this Act. The Supreme Court in TMA Pai Foundation & Ors vrs State of Karnataka
and Ors (2002) has held that for the purpose of Article 30 a minority, whether linguistic or
religious, is determinable with reference to a State and not by taking into consideration the
population of the country as a whole.
The State Minorities Commission Acts usually empower the local governments to notify the
minorities e.g. Bihar Minorities Commission Act, 1991, Section 2(c); Karnataka Minorities
Commission Act 1994, Section 2(d); UP Minorities Commission Act 1994, Section 2(d); West
Bengal Minorities Commission Act 1996, Section 2(c); A.P. Minorities Commission Act 1998,
Section 2(d). Similar Acts of M.P. (1996) and Delhi (1999), however, say that Government’s
Notification issued under the NCM Act, 1992 will apply in this regard – M.P. Act 1996, Section
2(c); Delhi Act 1999, Section 2(g); Section 2(d). In several States (e.g. Himachal Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, U.P. and Uttarakhand), Jains have been recognised
as a minority. The Jain community approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the
Central Government for a similar recognition at the national level and their demand was
supported by the National Commission for Minorities. But the Supreme Court did not issue the
desired direction, leaving it to the Central Government to decide the issue (Bal Patil’s case,
2005)7. In a later ruling, however, another Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the UP Law
recognising Jains as a minority (Bal Vidya’s case, 2006)8.

7
Bal Patil & Anr vs Union Of India & Ors AIR 2005 SC 3172
8
Committee Of Management Kanya ... vs Sachiv, U.P. Basic Shiksha AIR 2006 SC 956

8|Page
 Chapter III: Status of religious minorities in India on different social and
economic parameters-
The demography of minority communities, their rural-urban distribution, sex composition,
literacy and educational status, marital status and livelihood patterns do indicate the lifestyle
of the people. Pattern of landholdings, sources of income and health status narrate their quality
of life. Today, socioeconomic changes are taking place rapidly in the country affecting the
majority as well due to diversification of economic pursuits, urbanisation, westernisation of
education, inter-caste marriages etc. Out of country’s total population religious minorities
constitute close to 19% of the entire population. A large proportion of them belong to Muslims
(14.2 percent), followed by Christians (2.4 percent), Sikhs (2.0 percent), Buddhists (0.9
percent) and Zoroastrians (Parsis) (0.0069 percent).
The practice of publication of community-wise data related to socio-economic and educational
level of each group of the Indian people has been discontinued since 1951 census. Though
relevant data have been collected during each decennial enumeration operation after
independence, their cross tabulation and publication have been discontinued presumably under
the notion that they are divisive and undermine national integration.
However, data on population and differential rate of growth of each religious community are
officially published leading to wide publicity about higher rate of growth of a religious
community, say Muslims. Coupled with lack of information about the same groups’ socio-
economic status makes people believe that it is their religion which is causing their faster
growth and not their relative poverty and illiteracy.
Overall Sex Ratio:
According to the Census 2001, against the overall sex ratio of 933 for all religions put together,
the sex ratio among Christians at 1,009 females per 1,000 males is the highest. In contrast, it is
the lowest among the Sikhs at 893. Taking the all-India average, the sex ratio of 931 females
per 1000 males is lower among the Hindus. The sex ratio among Muslims at 936, is slightly
above the national average. However, Buddhists (953), Jains (940) and others (992) have
improved sex ratio vis-a-vis all other religions.
Population of 60 Years and above:
7.45 percent of Indian population belongs to 60 years and above. Jains have maximum
proportion of older persons (9.94 percent) followed by Sikhs (9.77 percent). The proportion of
female elderly of Jains is also maximum (10.69 percent) followed by Sikhs (10.05 percent). As
against this, the Sikhs have maximum male elderly proportion (9.53 percent) followed by Jains
(9.23 percent). It has been seen that proportion of Muslims elderly is lowest (5.75 percent) as
against 7.45 percent of total population of the country.
Age at Marriage
Among men who married below the age of 21 years, 51.3 percent were Hindus, nearly 47
percent Muslims, 39 percent Buddhists, 26 percent Jains, 20 percent Christians and 13 percent
Sikhs. Similarly, in the case of females who married below 17 years of age, the percentage
values were 37 percent Hindus, 43.2 percent Muslims, 41.0 percent Buddhists, approximately
25 percent Jains and 36 percent ‘Others’. The proportion for Christian, and Sikh Women was

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16.4 percent and 17 percent respectively. Out of this, the proportion of girl child marriages (i.e.
less than 10 years of age) was three percent of the total marriages prevalent mainly among
Buddhists (2.8 percent), Hindus (2.6 percent) and Muslims (2.2 percent).

Literacy Rate

Census 2011
Muslims have a literacy rate (59.1 percent) lower than the national average literacy rate.
Analysis of literacy rates reveals that Muslims were better off than Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and those pursuing ‘other religions’ but lagged behind others. The literacy
rate in the Parsi community is 97.9 percent. This could be due to the fact that education of Parsi
children was emphasised as early as the late 19th century. The Jain population has also returned
very high national literacy rate of 94.1percent and is one of the most literate religious
community. On analysing the distribution of literates by educational level, it was found that
Jains (21.47 percent) have the highest proportion of educated persons among all the religions
among those who have completed graduation stage. This is followed by Christians (8.71
percent) and Sikhs (6.94 percent). Muslims have the lowest proportion at 3.6 percent. Among
Hindus, the proportion of those attaining the educational level of ‘Graduate and above’ is seven
percent, which is more or less in the same order as the overall proportion of all religious
communities taken together. Further, Muslims (65.31 percent) are better off at primary level of

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education but their proportion goes down as we go to secondary (10.96 percent) and senior
secondary (4.53 percent) stages. Though Christians at the primary level with 45.79 percent are
lower than the national average but levels increases at secondary (17.48 percent) and senior
secondary (8.70 percent) stages. Other religions follow almost national average level.
Infant and Child Mortality Rate
Based on NFHS II Report, infant and child mortality rates among Hindus are much higher than
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. Among minorities infant and child mortality
rates of other minorities are lower than Muslims. Mortality rate differentials among different
religious communities or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes may be due to factors other
than religion alone e.g. urban or rural residence or economic conditions of the family or
availability of health facilities and access to them.

Availability of Type of House (i.e. Kutcha, Semi Pucca, or Pucca House)

According to a study conducted by the Centre for Research, Planning & Action, New Delhi, in
January 2006 in five states (Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal), only 34.63 percent of respondents had pucca houses. Further, the availability of pucca
house varies from states to state ranging from 3.3 percent in West Bengal to 56.93 percent in
Maharashtra.

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while 90.58 percent Parsis followed by 53.05 percent Buddhists were living in pucca houses,
share of pucca houses was lowest among Muslims with 23.76 percent followed by Christians
with 27.26 percent. Similarly, 42.71 percent of the respondent families lived in semi-pucca
houses and 22.31 percent in kutcha houses. The percentage of households living in kutcha
houses was highest among Muslims with 34.63 percent followed by Christians with 22.58
percent. Very few Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis lived in kutcha houses, which indicates their
better economic status vis-à-vis Muslims and Christians.
Availability of Toilets
According to the Report of the Centre for Research Planning & Action, 77.97 percent of
households surveyed had a toilet in the house. The availability of toilets was highest among
Parsis (98.41 percent) followed by Sikhs (83.77 percent). Interestingly, Muslims had a higher
percentage of households with toilets (80.33 percent) as compared with Christians and
Buddhists. Analysis of the housing conditions of Minority Communities reveals that Parsis
lived with better housing facilities followed by Christians.
Work Participation Rate

According to Census 2001, work participation rate (WPR) or percentage of workers to total
population for all religions is 39.1 percent. However, the group of ‘Other Religions and
Persuasions’ has higher work participation rate of 48.4 percent followed by the Buddhist at
40.6 percent, Hindus 40.4 percent and Christians at 39.7 percent. The lowest work participation
rate of 31.3 percent at the national level is seen for the Muslim population preceded by Jains at
32.9 percent and Sikhs at 37.7 percent. Further, work participation rate of 9.2 percent among
Jain women and 14.1 percent for Muslim women is the lowest in the country.

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Poverty

Average Income

According to a study conducted by Centre for Research, Planning & Action, New Delhi, in
January 2013 in five states (Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal), average income per family per month is estimated at Rs. 2,103. This is the highest at
Rs. 3173 in Maharashtra followed by Rs. 2274 in UP, Rs. 2155 in Punjab, Rs. 1449 in Tamil
Nadu, Rs. 1324 in West Bengal. By religion, the highest income was recorded among Parsis at
Rs. 3484 per month followed by Rs. 2478 among Buddhists, Rs. 2285 among Sikhs, Rs. 1906
among Christians and Rs. 1832 among Muslims.

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 Chapter IV: Analysis of the data mentioned in Chapter II
Analysis shows considerable variations of performance of different communities on different
parameters but one pattern which is consistent throughout the above mentioned data is that the
Muslim Community lags behind in probably all the parameters except for one or two. That’s
the reason why it becomes beyond important when the question of social and economic status
of religious minorities in India arises, it has to place a special reference to the Muslim
community. As that community is lagging behind on each socio-economic parameter.
Majority of the data mentioned above has been taken from Ranganath Mishra Commission.
When the report of Ranganath Mishra Commission came out there was an increasing demand
from various corners to make a separate committee for studying the social and economic status
of particularly Muslims of India. The demand was rebutted by the political parties on the right
as they saw it as a divisive technique of the present dispensation and a ploy to enhance their
appeasement policy. However, months after coming into power UPA government in 2005
appointed a high level commission to look into the various social and economic parameters to
see the performance of the Muslim community. When the high powered committee came out
with the report it made it crystal clear that the state of Muslims in India right from the
independence haven’t progressed as the other communities did. The report also put a death
knell to various myths and stereotypical views surrounding the community.
 Data obtained by Raganath Mishra commission and Rajinder Sachar Commission
shows that Muslims are at a double disadvantage with low levels of education combined
with low quality education; their deprivation increases manifold as the level of
education rises. In some instances, the relative share for Muslims is lower than even the
SCs who are victims of a long standing caste system. Such relative deprivation calls for
a significant policy shift, in the recognition of the problem and in devising corrective
measures, as well as in the allocation of resources.
 In the field of literacy, the committee has found that the rate among Muslims is very
much below than the national average. The gap between Muslims and the general
average is greater in urban areas and women. 25 per cent of children of Muslim parents
in the 6-14-year age group have either never attended school or have dropped out.
 Muslim parents are not averse to mainstream education or to send their children to
affordable Government schools. The access to government schools for children of
Muslim parents is limited.
 Bidi workers, tailors and mechanics need to be provided with social safety nets and
social security. The participation of Muslims in the professional and managerial cadre
is low.
 The average amount of bank loan disbursed to the Muslims is 2/3 of the amount
disbursed to other minorities. In some cases, it is half. The Reserve Bank of India’s
efforts to extend banking and credit facilities under the Prime Minister’s 15-point
programme of 1983 has mainly benefited other minorities marginalizing Muslims.
 There is a clear and significant inverse association between the proportion of the
Muslim population and the availability of educational infrastructure in small villages.
Muslim concentration villages are not well served with pucca approach roads and local
bus stops.

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  Substantially larger proportion of the Muslim households in urban areas are in the less
than Rs.500 expenditure bracket.
 Muslim community has a representation of only 4.5% in Indian Railways while 98.7%
of them are positioned at lower levels. Representation of Muslims is very low in the
Universities and in Banks. Their share in police constables is only 6%, in health 4.4%,
in transport 6.5%.
 The information regarding the Scheme has not adequately percolated down. Even if the
share of Muslims in elected bodies is low they and other underrepresented segments
can be involved in the decision making process through innovative mechanisms.
 Most of the variables indicate that Muslim-OBCs are significantly deprived in
comparison to Hindu-OBCs. The work participation rate (WPR) shows the presence of
a sharp difference between Hindu-OBCs (67%) and the Muslims. The share of Muslim-
OBCs in government/ PSU jobs is much lower than Hindu-OBCs.
 Only four per cent of Muslims students actually go to madrasas primarily because
primary state schools do not exist for miles. Therefore, the idea that Muslims prefer
madrasa education was found to be not true.
 There is a critical need to address the gap between government schemes and programs
and access by the community. The recent report form the Ministry of the Minority
affairs reveals that the financial allocations for development minorities have been
underutilized. In the 11th National 5 Year Plan the outlay for religious minorities was
Rs.1400 crore, but only 35% of the total amount allocated was used.

Importance of data related to socio-economic condition of religious minorities in India:

Information and awareness about the socio-economic conditions of all segments on Indian
people will, on the other hand reduce inter group conflict by making more advanced and
affluent sections realize and accept the need for affirmative action programmes for
comparatively backward sections. By the same token, the latter will be inspired to strive harder
for their uplift.
The policy of non-publication of socio-economic and educational condition of religious
minorities does not enjoy any constitutional sanctions. Minorities based on religion are a
constitutionally recognized group of the Indian people with guaranteed rights.
The UNDPs Human Development Report 2004, released worldwide on, July 15, 2004 argued
that cultural freedom and protection of cultural diversity is essential to prevent conflict. It is
not cultural differences which promote violence, it cautions, it is when these differences are
not allowed to be expressed – be it in Sri Lanka or in Bosnia – that societies and even countries
might erupt. Globalization cannot succeed, the UN warns, unless “xenophobic resistance to
cultural diversity” is fought and overcome.

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 Chapter V: Measures taken by government to address the grievances of
religious minorities
Social justice requires that fundamental human rights of the members of all communities are
protected by the State. To promote inter-faith harmony and a secular ethos in all parts of the
country, central and state governments from time to time pro-actively encourage training for
the police, armed forces, administrators and other functionaries, to sensitise them to the
relevant issues. Efforts are being made to promote citizens’ inter-faith groups, meetings with
religious leaders of all communities, neighbourhood peace committees, and other similar
measures, particularly in areas that are prone to communal tension. The New 15-Point Program
for Minorities outlines a framework within which the welfare of minorities can be ensured
through due democratic processes, with the involvement of civil society groups and enlightened
members of minority as well as majority groups.
High Power Panel under the Chairmanship of Dr Gopal Singh- In 1983 a High Power
Panel was appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs headed by Dr. Gopal Singh. This
Committee identified Muslims and Neo-Buddhists as two educationally backward minorities
at the national level and proposed special efforts for bringing them at par with the rest of the
society. Neo Buddhists have since been placed at par with the SC population for receiving all
the benefits. For Muslim minority, forty-four districts with concentration of Muslims, based on
1981 Census, were identified for special attention.
The 15-Point Programme for Minorities, 1983- In May 1983, the then Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi issued a 15-Point Directive on welfare of minorities. The 15-Point Programme for
Minorities announced in 1983 focused on priority areas such as: the need to tackle the situation
arising out of communal riots and preventing further communal riots; ensure adequate
representation of minority communities in employment under Central and State as well as
Public Sector Undertakings; ensuring flow of benefits to the minority communities under
various development programmes such as maintenance and development of religious places,
Wakf properties and redressal of grievances of the minorities. It was felt that in many areas
recruitment is done through competitive examinations and often minority groups are unable to
take advantage of the educational system to compete on equal terms. Therefore, steps should
be taken to encourage the starting of coaching classes in minority. educational institutions to
train persons to compete successfully in these examinations. Likewise, acquisition of technical
skills by those minorities who are lagging behind need to be enhanced as in the long run it
would also help in national development. Arrangements should be made to set up it is and
Polytechnics by government or private agencies in predominantly minority areas to encourage
admission in such institutions of adequate number of persons belonging to these communities.
High level Committee on Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslim Community
in India (Sachar Committee)- A High level Committee on Social, Economic and Educational
Status of Muslim Community in India was set up in 2005 under the Chairmanship of Justice
Rajinder Sachar by the Prime Minister and the Committee submitted its report in November,
2006. This Committee noted with concern the low socio economic status with higher poverty,
lower literacy and educational attainments, higher unemployment rates, lower availability of
infrastructure and lower representation in civil services including police, judiciary and in
elected bodies among Muslim minority.

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New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities, 2006- A need was felt to review
and recast the 15- point programme for Minorities, to sharply focus action on issues intimately
linked to the social, educational and economic uplift of the minorities. While points relating to
prevention of communal riots and provision of relief to riot victims continue to have an
important place in the revised programme, there are additional points more closely linked with
the development of backward minorities, relating specifically to employment, education and
improved living conditions. It was felt that the new 15-point programme was to be necessary
because of the gaps in the previous programme with regard to amelioration of socio-economic
conditions and enhancement of socioeconomic status of the minority groups. With a view to
removing this lacuna and having a more comprehensive programme for minorities, the Prime
Minister’s new 15-point Programme for Welfare of Minorities was formulated, and approved
by the Cabinet on 22 June 2006. This programme includes:
(1) Equitable availability of ICDS services: The ICDS aims at holistic development of
children and lactating/pregnant mothers from disadvantaged sections through
nutritional and educational inputs. Blocks/ villages with substantial population of
minority communities will be covered through ensuring a certain percentage of ICDS
projects/centres in such areas.
(2) Improving access to school education: Elementary schools are being opened in
localities/villages across the country where substantial population of minority
community lives, under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya
Scheme and other similar government schemes.
(3) Greater resources for teaching Urdu: Central assistance will be provided for recruitment
of Urdu language teachers in primary and upper primary schools that serve a population
in which at least one-fourth belong to that language group.
(4) Modernising Madrasa education: The Central Plan Scheme of Area Intensive and
Madrasa Modernisation Programme will be substantially strengthened and effectively
implemented.
(5) Scholarships for meritorious students: from minority communities: A scheme for Pre-
Matriculation and Post-Matriculation Scholarships for students from minority
communities will be formulated and implemented, to ensure that poverty does not
impede continuation of studies of meritorious students from minority communities.
(6) Improving educational infrastructure through the Maulana Azad Education Foundation:
Government shall provide all possible assistance to the MAEF, to enable it to expand
its activities with the aim of promoting education amongst the educationally backward
minorities. The National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC)
will be strengthened by government provision of greater equity support to enable it to
fully achieve its objectives. Enhanced credit support to economic activities. Bank
credit, essential for creating and sustaining self-employment initiatives, will have a
target of 40 percent (of net bank credit from domestic banks) fixed for priority sector
lending. The priority sector includes agricultural loans, loans to small-scale industries
and small businesses, loans to retail traders, professionals and self-employed persons,
educational loans and microcredit. A certain percentage of priority sector lending in all
categories will be targeted for the minority communities.

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 Chapter VI: Conclusion

The redressing of minority community grievances and socio-cultural modernization process on

secular line should go hand in hand. It should neither demoralize minority nor disrupt the
solidarity or the secularist character of the country. The secular fabric of Indian society has to
be sustained, keeping intact the pluralistic features of Indian culture.
The extremists have to realize that a modern nation state has its own logic, and majoritarian
attitudes weaken rather than strengthen it. A modern Nation-state can be run only on the basis
of a constitution and secular laws. A majoritarian mind set can be destructive for the healthy
spirit of nationalism. A modern democracy cannot succeed until the minorities feel completely
secure.
The 21st century will be the century of democracy and human rights. India can be justly proud
of being democratic, right from the day of its independence. The task now is, to further deeper
and consolidate democracy. And this certainly depends on the treatment of minorities. In real
democratic governance, minorities should be treated with justice and dignity.
The majority and the minority shall have to reconcile their interests within the framework of
existing situations. Otherwise a nation can’t emerge on modern lines without this basic national
cohesion and mutual cooperation.
The just solution would be to democratise Muslims for such as the Muslim personal law board
so that all issues relevant to this debate can be effectively articulated. The issue of
representation in public life is more intractable because there is no direct way of addressing it.
Indian society will have to work at too many levels simultaneously to address this issue.
The 21st century will be a century of mutual dialogue. The culture of dialogue will be essential
for democracy and for creating mutual trust. The majority should realize that the more secure
the minorities’ feel, the more they will contribute to nation building. And the minorities should
realize that the more they contribute to nation building, the more they will be respected. Both
the majority and the minorities will have to realize that confrontation leads to destruction and
dialogue promotes mutual trust and understanding. Only both together can ensure better quality
of democratic governance in the next century.

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