India’s Muslim Spring and the new Indian Muslim

[acetophenol]

I have to agree with you my friend. In order to really get an accurate picture about Indian Muslims, one has to visit India and I have never been to India. I will inshallah visit some day because being a Mughal, my Ancesters were from Dehli and more than 30 generations of ancesters are buried around Dehli. That makes Dehli my " Ancestral Village ", lol. My Grandparents from both sides moved from Dehli to Pakistan in 1947.

Hopefully, the Muslims are feeling comfortable enough to be part of Indian Tapestry. Denying a segment of the Society its Civl rights creates Alienation amongst those people. India cannot develop as a Nation if part of its citizenry feels alienated and their rights are subrogated. I wish Indian Muslims lot of success and hope they are made part of Indian Tapestry so they can become loyal Indian Citizens.

Bro,please do visit India,and its my dream to visit Pakistan too!

And I can assure you perhaps India is the best place for people from any religion to live in,especially muslims.Infact,I do feel bad when I see threads like these,as if people are kinda sympathetic or concerned about you. Its almost like some random guy coming and telling you "I hope your health improves" when you are absolutely fine!

 

[Pakistanisage]

@pakistan S
thanks for visiting india.. hope you like our hospitality.
do give some suggestion to improve,, that will help us

yo are right.. there is some issue but looking at india as continental size country we need to take care of that..
fortunately people of india are really for it and that why we could able to sustain so long and will remain so but with better future and inclusive growth in all aspect

Sir , i already read it...
Who is to blame.. partly to GOI and society too.
any community is responsible to his /her development.
still musilm % in civil serv/ govt/ higher educ is not up to the mark.
the drop out rate is very high in muslim youth.
india as nation provide security, opportunity to grow
but in the end you have to grow by yourself.

india as nation acknowledge their weakness.
muslim are among most imp brothers
but they have liberalized them self first.specialyy attitude toward role of women in muslim society
exa.
1) shah bano case
THE SHAH Bano case was a milestone in the Muslim women's search for justice and the beginning of the political battle over personal law. A 60-year-old woman went to court asking maintenance from her husband who had divorced her. The court ruled in her favour. Shah Bano was entitled to maintenance from her ex-husband under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (with an upper limit of Rs. 500 a month) like any other Indian woman. The judgment was not the first granting a divorced Muslim woman maintenance under Section 125. But a voluble orthodoxy deemed the verdict an attack on Islam.

The Congress Government, panicky in an election year, caved in under the pressure of the orthodoxy. It enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986. The most controversial provision of the Act was that it gave a Muslim woman the right to maintenance for the period of iddat (about three months) after the divorce, and shifted the onus of maintaining her to her relatives or the Wakf Board. The Act was seen as discriminatory as it denied divorced Muslim women the right to basic maintenance which women of other faiths had recourse to under secular law.

if this is what muslim community want.. how they will grow

I totally agree with you. At the end of the day, Indian Muslims have to break away from the yoke of Poverty and illiteracy through their own efforts so that their children can have a better future. I think the biggest culprits here in my opinion are some of the well to do Indian Muslims. What are they doing to help their fellow Muslims who are down trodden.

Most Pakistanis don't care much about Indian Muslims except for people like me with ROOTS in India. All I care about is that Indian Muslims are thriving as a community because I came from those people.

Bro,please do visit India,and its my dream to visit Pakistan too!

And I can assure you perhaps India is the best place for people from any religion to live in,especially muslims.Infact,I do feel bad when I see threads like these,as if people are kinda sympathetic or concerned about you. Its almost like some random guy coming and telling you "I hope your health improves" when you are absolutely fine!

Thanks. It is reassuring to hear from " Insiders " to get a more accurate Picture.

 

[acetophenol]

Thanks. It is reassuring to hear from " Insiders " to get a more accurate Picture.

You are always welcome!

At the end of the day, Indian Muslims have to break away from the yoke of Poverty and illiteracy through their own efforts so that their children can have a better future

But bro,thats mostly the case with literally anyone,irrespective of their religion.
But reservations and allowances do help,but its a kinda unfair game.

 

[Pakistanisage]

You are always welcome!



But bro,thats mostly the case with literally anyone,irrespective of their religion.
But reservations and allowances do help,but its a kinda unfair game.

The Reservations and Allowances compensate for the past and present injustices and deprivations, so I do support them.

 

[pursuit of happiness]

@Pakistansaige
Reservation and other benefit will help those who want to help them..
muslim are best in their entrepreneurial skill like gujratis .
they have g8 skills in textile, fragrance is there forte and art forms ..
just right education , right attitude make them king of trade..
why not have "Ittar" as brand than Hugo Boss...
just food for thought....

 

[Contrarian]

I have to agree with you my friend. In order to really get an accurate picture about Indian Muslims, one has to visit India and I have never been to India. I will inshallah visit some day because being a Mughal, my Ancesters were from Dehli and more than 30 generations of ancesters are buried around Dehli. That makes Dehli my " Ancestral Village ", lol. My Grandparents from both sides moved from Dehli to Pakistan in 1947.

Hopefully, the Muslims are feeling comfortable enough to be part of Indian Tapestry. Denying a segment of the Society its Civl rights creates Alienation amongst those people. India cannot develop as a Nation if part of its citizenry feels alienated and their rights are subrogated. I wish Indian Muslims lot of success and hope they are made part of Indian Tapestry so they can become loyal Indian Citizens.

Muslims need to come out of their isolationist attitude to prosper. Success cannot be handed to them on a platter.
Muslims are the least educated group in India while all the other minorities are ahead of the national average.

The question of jobs and success only arises when Muslims become educated.

The second biggest issue of Muslims in India is their kowtowing to Arabs and Arab affairs. They just cannot stand up on their own two feet without looking at Arabs. I would say it is nothing but Arab cultural imperialism that affects them in the name of Islam.

Both these things are slowly changing. That is the revolution. The revolution is not about Muslims becoming aware of their 'identity', because their identity is not different from the identity of any other Indian of any other religion. They are learning to plant their feet in India instead of other countries.

 

[acetophenol]

The Reservations and Allowances compensate for the past and present injustices and deprivations, so I do support them.

Past and present injustices and deprivations?If you look in a way,every community will have a tale of "past and present injustices and deprivations".

The case in India is that,real merit is often overtaken by these "reservations and allowances".I would love if equal opportunties are guaranteed irrespective of one's financial conditions,and then this reservations to be scrapped.

In India,its not about your religion,its about your financial conditions.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

While there are more educated muslims coming out, there is also a concern, fundamentalism is also rising among a section of Indian youths, both Muslims and Hindus, even christians. Years of appeasement for minorities have given them a arabic outlook, old hyderabad MIM, and a recent activity in Rameshwaram are just mere examples. While one section is developing, another small section is also radicalising.
But for the majority of Muslims this article stands

 

[livingdead]

Past and present injustices and deprivations?If you look in a way,every community will have a tale of "past and present injustices and deprivations".

The case in India is that,real merit is often overtaken by these "reservations and allowances".I would love if equal opportunties are guaranteed irrespective of one's financial conditions,and then this reservations to be scrapped.

In India,its not about your religion,its about your financial conditions.

backward castes among muslims do deserve reservation.
Problem is the hostile environment in govt jobs or armed forces jobs, and muslims generally dont prefer govt jobs. They would rather do small business or private job.
It is true that Indian muslims are very patriotic and nationalistic. The reason is they see very few alternatives to India.
If pakistan was not such a failed experiment (in how they tream minorities), we might have seen a lot of discontent among them.

 

[KRAIT]

I believe this new found voice of Indian Muslims is taking root and Indian Muslims are gaining confidence with each passing day. I noticed this phenomenon first hand on a couple of " big Boss " Episodes I watched during my last two trips to Pakistan. During 2012/13 winter trip I watched the show and a fellow named " Siddiqui " stole the show and in 2013/14 recent trip Ajaz and Gauhar Khan were amazing. Both Ejaz and Siddiqui spoke proper Urdu most eloquently as well as used Islamic expressions , something that Muslims use to down play in the past to hide their identity. This shows greater confidence Muslims are gaining. However, knowing mentality of some Hindus, the Muslims should be careful not to overdo this display of confidence lest they are shunted out of job market. As it is , already Muslims are denied economic opportunities. And Hindus, please don't quote SRK and Salman Khan because those are exceptions , not the rule. Except for few of these token players, vast majority of Muslims are deprived of their civil rights.

Denied ?
I met a Muslim CS today who used to work for Sun Pharma and now he has started his own practice and got biggest dealer of Suzuki in my city along with big names.

Not only him, many like them are getting such jobs. Thing is, if you are educated, you get work. No one cares that much.

Its just that India is nation of 1.2 billion people. its not just Muslims that dont get opportunity, all others are fighting for one.

 

[SouthDesi]

I think the biggest culprits here in my opinion are some of the well to do Indian Muslims. What are they doing to help their fellow Muslims who are down trodden.

I don't think it happens in any community, not just in muslims. I would say, if GOVT really implements all welfare schemes they announced for poor and minorities properly, that itself should be enough. One good thing happening now a days, Most of well do Muslims and some Hindus in India are now pretty much have relations through marriages and we can see our future generation have different views on society when their kids are grownup. Take any big name starting from J&K CM to any biggie, they all married to Hindus. It applies to some famous Hindu's too.

 

[aakash_2410]

Again, you are quoting me Token success stories. The vast majority of Indian Muslims are at the lowest level in India.

Please read the report by Sachar Commssion as reported by Rajinder Sachar:


Sachar Committee Report - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Main findings of the report[edit]
The entire Sachar Report is available for download at various websites. The Sachar Committee Report online[1][2]

Some findings are as follows: A..Sachar committee has put a lot of analysis about the Indian Muslim with "statistical reports" based on information from government agencies, banks, Indian Minority Commission, different state governments and its agencies. The major points covered in the reports are:

• 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.

• Substantially larger proportion of the Muslim households in urban areas are in the less than Rs.500 expenditure bracket.

• The presence of Muslims has been found to be only 3% in the IAS, 1.8% in the IFS and 4% in the IPS.

• 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%.

• For the Maulana Azad Education Foundation to be effective the corpus fund needs to be increased to 1000 crores. Total allocation in the four years 2002 to 2006 for Madarsa Modernization Scheme is 106 crores. The information regarding the Scheme has not adequately percolated down. Even if the share of Muslims in elected bodies is low they and other under represented 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.

• There are about 5 lakh registered Wakfs with 600,000 acres (2,400 km²) land and Rs 6,000 crore book value.[3]

Removal of common stereotypes[edit]
The Sachar committee report helped in a big way to remove common stereotypes. Some of these important findings were:

• Only four per cent of Muslims students actually go to madrassas primarily because primary state schools do not exist for miles. Therefore, the idea that Muslims prefer madrassa education was found to be not true.[4]

• That there is “substantial demand from the community for fertility regulation and for modern contraceptives” and over 20 million couples are already using contraceptives. “Muslim population growth has slowed down as fertility has declined substantially”. This does away with the concern that Muslim population growth would be able to outnumber Hindus or change the religious demography in any meaningful way.[5]

• That Muslims wherever spoken to complained of suffering the twin calumnies of being dubbed “anti-national” and of being “appeased”. However, the Indian Muslim community as a whole had never indulged in anti-national activities and the conditions borne out by the committee's findings clearly explained that no "appeasement" had taken place[6]

• In private industry like the BPO industry, Muslims have been able to do well and find employment in large numbers. However this is restricted to large companies mainly.[6]

• Muslims in Gujarat, a state that was ravaged by 2002 Gujarat riots, were indicated to be better off in terms of Education and Economic well being than the national average. Even in terms of employment Gujarat had a better share of Muslims in government jobs (5.4%) than compared to states like West Bengal (2.1%) and New Delhi (3.2%).[7]

Summary of recommendations[edit]
The report put forward some recommendations to eliminate the situation raised for Indian Muslim. Justice Sachar explained that the upliftment minorities and implementation of these recommendations would strengthen the secular fabric of Indian society as well as increase patriotism due to their all inclusive progress. The recommendation include:

• Mechanisms to ensure equity and equality of opportunity and eliminate discrimination.

• Creation of a National Data Bank (NDB) where all relevant data for various Socio Religious Communities are maintained.

• Form an autonomous Assessment and Monitoring Authority to evaluate the extent of development benefits

• An Equal Opportunity Commission should be constituted to look into the grievances of the deprived groups.

• Elimination of the anomalies with respect to reserved constituencies under the delimitation scheme.

• The idea of providing certain incentives to a diversity index should be explored to ensure equal opportunities in education, governance, private employment and housing.

• A process of evaluating the content of the school textbooks needs to be initiated and institutionalized.

• The UGC should evolve a system where part of the allocation to colleges and universities is linked to the diversity in the student population.

• Providing hostel facilities at reasonable costs for students from minorities must be taken up on a priority basis.

• The Committee recommended promoting and enhancing access to Muslims in Priority Sector Bank Advances.

• The real need is of policy initiatives that improve the participation and share of the Minorities, particularly Muslims in the business of regular commercial banks.

• The community should be represented on interview panels and Boards. The underprivileged should be helped to utilize new opportunities in its high growth phase through skill development and education.

• Provide financial and other support to initiatives built around occupations where Muslims are concentrated and have growth potential.[3][8]

Responses to the committee findings[edit]
There are different responses to the sachar committee findings from different part of India.[9][10]

Follow-up action taken[edit]
15-point minorities welfare programme[edit]
Main article: 15 point Programme for minorities
The Prime Minister has also unfolded a comprehensive 15-point programme for the welfare and empowerment of minorities.The new plan wants to help the minorities by Enhancing opportunities for education.Ensuring equitable share in economic activities and employment,Improving the conditions of living of minorities,Prevention and control of communal disharmony and violence.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan[edit]
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) or “Education for All Programme”, a national flagship programme to provide quality elementary education to all children in the 6 – 14 years age group through a time bound approach. Based on the data obtained from Census as well as District Information System for Education (DISE), SRI-IMRB Survey etc., the Government has made a number of interventions in SSA to help the minority (Muslim) children in education. One of the thrust areas is to ensure availability of schools in all minority concentrated districts. During 2005-06, 4624 primary and Upper primary schools, and about 31,702 Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) Centres were sanctioned in minority concentrated districts. During 2006-07, 6918 new primary and upper primary schools have been sanctioned in minority-dominated districts. 32,250 EGS centres with a total enrolment of 120.90 lakh children have been sanctioned for 2006-07. Sanction has also been accorded for enrolment of 11.25 lakh children in Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) during 2006-07 in these districts.

Madrasas/Makhtabs have been covered under SSA. The Madarsas affiliated to the State Madarasa Boards and satisfying certain conditions are eligible for such assistance as is available to other regular schools under SSA. So far 8309 madarsas have been assisted.

Facilities for minority girls[edit]
Free textbooks are provided to all minority girls from classes I-VIII. As provided to majority community also, Urdu textbooks are provided for Urdu medium schools and for Urdu as a subject. Based on the 1981 Census, 93 districts (now 99) in 16 states have been identified for focused attention. The major focus is on the states of Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. Out of the 1180 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV), 210 schools have been sanctioned in minority blocks, 1430 minority girls have already been enrolled in KGBVs till 31.3.06.

Minority Concentration districts[edit]
The report concluded that almost 27% of the Muslim population live on 3% of the land raising fears of ghettoisation. So, there is a special focus on 93 districts with over 20% of the population belonging to minorities according to the 1981 census, for SSA investments in 2005-06 and 2006-07..

Sachar Committee’s recommendations in the sphere of education include a special focus on free and compulsory education; institutionalizing the process of evaluating school textbooks so that they better reflect community-specific sensitivities; setting up quality government schools, especially for girls in areas of Minority concentration; and providing priming education in Urdu or native language in areas where the language is widely in use.

Status metrics[edit]
The following table pertains to select socio-economic data regards the Muslim community in India. Even in states and districts where Muslims are a majority, they are discriminated against by government ministries, institutions, corporations and banks. Over 100% figure for bank accounts indicates undercount of Muslims in decadal censuses. Enrolment rate pertains to school admissions of children aged 6 through 14 years. ST stands for Scheduled Tribe. OBC stands for Other Backward Classes. MPCE stands for Monthly Per Capita Expenditure.

RegionState / Union TerritoryShare of
Wakf
Acreage (%)Share of
Muslims (%)Share of
purchasing
power (%)Urban
MPCE (%)Rural
MPCE (%)Urdu
speakers (%)Sex
Ratio (%)Under-5
Mortality (%)Urbanisation
(%)Bank
Accounts
(%)ST (%)OBC (%)Literacy (%)Enrolment (%)
PeninsularMaharashtra16.17.416.175.096.567.388.94.270.076.40.810.878.191.0
HimalayanUttar Pradesh2.622.213.775.294.443.291.8 36.040.00.00762.047.869.4
PeninsularAndhra Pradesh25.45.16.473.6101.093.896.1 58.158.70.0219.568.083.4
PeninsularTamil Nadu6.02.54.787.5120.327.0102.0 72.887.50.0293.382.998.5
PeninsularGujarat1.53.35.772.6103.612.093.7 58.783.50.232.873.578.9
HimalayanWest Bengal10.314.613.264.587.08.293.37.716.848.00.032.457.582.8
PeninsularKarnataka3.24.76.673.698.086.495.76.659.050.80.00952.770.190.7
PeninsularRajasthan26.83.53.072.5102.213.892.912.248.488.20.0855.756.677.1
PeninsularKerala3.95.77.879.893.90.2108.22.625.471.30.00399.189.499.0
HimalayanDelhi 1.21.974.1160.654.078.2 96.022.2 21.666.695.1
PeninsularMadhya Pradesh 2.82.274.9103.030.892.9 70.0129.70.248.170.388.0
HimalayanHaryana3.70.91.593.466.921.287.0 14.531.0 86.240.059.7
HimalayanPunjab0.30.30.462.185.96.979.3 43.6112.5 54.451.289.0
HimalayanBihar 9.94.077.095.769.294.3 12.452.70.163.342.065.8
PeninsularOrissa 0.50.799.4105.979.094.8 41.7209.50.38.271.390.6
PeninsularChattisgarh 0.30.361.3106.321.094.3 62.9460.0 82.597.9
HimalayanJharkhand 2.72.271.596.462.693.9 25.339.9 61.755.669.2
HimalayanAssam 6.04.2106.088.6 93.88.76.417.80.013.048.487.0
HimalayanUttarakhand 0.71.073.292.449.287.5 38.236.1 53.251.161.4
HimalayanHimachal Pradesh 61.195.5 17.213.757.573.7
HimalayanKashmir 4.94.588.996.40.292.76.322.147.5 17.147.390.6
PeninsularGoa 0.006
HimalayanChandigarh
HimalayanTripura 0.2
HimalayanMeghalaya 2.6
PeninsularPuducherry
HimalayanManipur 0.3
HimalayanNagaland 3.1
HimalayanArunachal Pradesh 1.3
HimalayanMizoram 7.4
PeninsularAndaman and Nicobar Islands 3.6
HimalayanSikkim 0.7
PeninsularDadra and Nagar Haveli 1.6
PeninsularDaman and Diu 1.4
PeninsularLakshadweep 98.5
Responses[edit]

• Syed Shahabuddin,the former MP from Janata Dal says Sachar Committee has collected the facts and figures more than suffice. But it should have put forward some concrete resolution like Minority Reservation if needed.[11]

• Janata Dal (United) party president Sharad Yadav,has strongly voiced his support and demanded quick implementation of the committee findings. He also emphasized the importance of including Dalit Muslims and Christians in the SC category.[12]

• The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has also urged the government to table the bill for implementing the committee findings even if an emergency session has to be called.[13]

Bro of course there is tension between the two communities every now and then. It would be false to say that it's all rosey and it's always like that. But, that's the case between any two communities in any countries. Whether be it Catholic and Protestant in Ireland or Sunni and Shia in Pakistan. These two communities are still more different then these.

But then again most of the times, things are fine and most of the time there is no animosity. Mostly Hindu and Muslims live in their community dominated areas. But, every now and then you'd get some people from another community in your school/workplace. And believe me, if anything we tend to overcompensate them. But people get along for 99.999% of the times.

You can perhaps relate to this more than I can.

 

[acetophenol]

backward castes among muslims do deserve reservation.
Problem is the hostile environment in govt jobs or armed forces jobs, and muslims generally dont prefer govt jobs. They would rather do small business or private job.
It is true that Indian muslims are very patriotic and nationalistic. The reason is they see very few alternatives to India.
If pakistan was not such a failed experiment (in how they tream minorities), we might have seen a lot of discontent among them.

I still don't understand why people generalize on these kinda issues!There is no "backward castes" in Islam,but just muslims who are poor and who are not.

And Bro,I really find offended when you say Indian muslims are patriotic and nationalistic just because we have very few alternatives.
Indian muslims or members of any other religion are partiotic and nationalistic because generation after generation,what we are eating is a secular bread with the interreligious tolerance butter. And we must thank our national leader for building us such a strong foundation.Patriotism and Nationalism will become stronger and stronger after every generation,and so will our secularism and inter religious tolerance.

Unlike Pakistan,driving force of our country is not a single religion,but the different religions sticked together with the glue of unity,spirit of India.

 

[livingdead]

I still don't understand why people generalize on these kinda issues!There is no "backward castes" in Islam,but just muslims who are poor and who are not.

And Bro,I really find offended when you say Indian muslims are patriotic and nationalistic just because we have very few alternatives.
Indian muslims or members of any other religion are partiotic and nationalistic because generation after generation,what we are eating is a secular bread with the interreligious tolerance butter. And we must thank our national leader for building us such a strong foundation.Patriotism and Nationalism will become stronger and stronger after every generation,and so will our secularism and inter religious tolerance.

Unlike Pakistan,driving force of our country is not a single religion,but the different religions sticked together with the glue of unity,spirit of India.

I am sorry if I offended you but I think what I said is true. They are based on my own observation. peace.