Thread by @PARInetwork

The landmark #SacharCommittee report that collected & analysed data on the social,economic & educational status of Muslims in India is now available in our resource section. Specifically,it tried to gauge if & why Muslims are under-represented in govt departments & other spheres.

Here are some of its findings. ruralindiaonline.org/resources/soci…
The 2001 Census showed that #literacy rates were low among Muslims, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The perception that religious conservatism among Muslims is a major factor for not accessing #education is incorrect. As with many Indians, the main reason for ‘educational backwardness’ of Muslims is abject poverty, which forces many children to drop out of school.

In predominantly Muslim localities, there are few quality schools beyond the primary level. Many #schools are culturally hostile towards Muslim students and teachers.
#Urdu-medium school education, the report says, is in a dismal state.

The problems include a lack of these #schools (at the anganwadi, primary, secondary and higher secondary levels), the poor quality of teaching, long-pending teacher vacancies, and the recruitment of Hindi instead of Urdu #teachers.

While seeking #work, a Muslim candidate, even with the requisite degrees & certifications, faces discrimination, especially in the government & organised sector.

The traditional occupations of some sections of Muslims – eg. in the silk industry & #sericulture, #handlooms and #powerlooms, the leather industry, automobile repairing and garment making – are on the decline due to economic liberalisation.

Many people the #SacharCommittee spoke to felt that Muslims are denied political participation in various ways. For eg,constituencies with a Muslim concentration are declared ‘reserved’ for SC candidates, Muslim names are routinely missing from #voter lists across states.

Muslims, especially women, experience #discrimination when they try to access govt benefits, including housing and other loans, and #pensions. They are often unable to avail of #reservation benefits given to Other Backward Classes because they are not given caste certificates.

Muslims in most of the surveyed states said that both public and private #banks and discriminated against them when it came to providing #credit.

The #SacharCommittee had access to the credit flows of the @sidbiofficial and the @NABARDOnline which provide credit to the small-scale sector and many in the #rural economy. It found that the share of advances given to Muslims is insignificant.

Around 82 per cent of small villages with less than 10 per cent of Muslims have educational institutions, while only 69 per cent of small villages with a substantial Muslim population have these institutions.

The availability of #medical facilities falls with the rise in the proportion of Muslims,especially in larger villages.A similar pattern prevails with #post & #telegraph offices. Villages with a significant Muslim population are not well served with pucca roads & local bus stops.

Muslims are close to average in terms of the quality their #houses & #toilet facilities. But on parameters such as the availability of #water,#electricity & cooking fuel, they're as ill-equipped as SC/STs & at a clear disadvantage compared to all other socio-religious categories.

The 1901 Census lists 133 social groups that are ‘wholly or partially Muslim’. Since the Constitutional Order, 1950 restricted SC status to Hindu groups that had ‘unclean’ occupations, their non-Hindu counterparts have been bracketed with middle-caste converts and declared OBCs.