Muslim Backwardness- Myth vs Reality

Editor  - On December 9, 2006 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Kohli said that  Muslims will have first claim to the country’s resources. I was  shocked. In school we were told that the Indian Constitution requires  all its citizens to be treated equally and here is a PM who is  telling the other communities they are second class citizens. Prior  to that, in March 2005, the PM appointed a High Level Committee to  prepare a report on the latest social, economic and educational  condition of the Muslim community of India.

To  my mind focusing on the economic etc aspects of one community is  wrong. Starting about 2005-06 media reports quoted the committee,  also known as the Sachar Committee, to tell us about the pitiable  state of Muslims in India and thus justify concessions to them.

Such  is the hype created that when Muslims in Tamil Nadu protested against  the release of Kamal Hassan’s movie Vishwaroopam  the first point made by a Muslim leader whilst speaking to a TV  Channel was, do you know how poor the Muslims in Tamil Nadu are?

Most  of know about the Congress party’s affection for the Muslim  community starting 1920’s but post 2005 we never knew about how the  Congress, through various government schemes, took this policy of  appeasement to an unheard of level. In the absence of well researched  and reliable data none could question the veracity of the facts  stated in the Sachar Committee Report.

Fortunately  two retired IPS Officers namely Ram Kumar Ohri and Jai Prakash Sharma  took it upon themselves to question alleged Muslim backwardness along  with details of status of poor Hindus and UPA’s divide and rule  schemes. They presented these thoughts in a book titled ‘The  Majority Report’ – Untold Story of Heart-Rending Discrimination  against Hindus in ‘Our India’.

What  we present is Appendix 2 and 3 from the book. It consists of a report  titled ‘Social and Economic Status and Popular Perception of  Muslims in India’ by Sanjay Kumar (Fellow), Centre for the Study of  Developing Societies, presented on 2/9/2006 at I.I.P.A. New Delhi and  Salient Points Highlighted.

Through  a series of tables and analysis the report covers level of education  and economic attainment among different communities, urban/rural  levels of educational attainment of Hindus and Muslims, region and  State wise levels of educational attainment and economic prosperity  amongst Muslims. Last it refers to problems of the Muslim community.

It  has become fashionable in India today to blame the Government for all  our ills. We are reluctant to reflect and ask how we must change in  order to progress”.

To  read Sanjay Kumar’s report click on PDF file.

If  you wish to buy book write to carried@samarth.co.in or call 011 29842070. Publisher site is site www.samarthtrust.in. To buy online click here

Also  read
1.
Who is a Minority
2. Dishonoring the Solemn Oath of Office
3. When Caste was not a bad word
4. Why Secularism is not an Indian Concept
5. Indigenous Education in the 18th century
6. How the British created the Dowry system in Punjab

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