ABSTRACT
By now it is clear that discrimination is widespread and not confined to a single community or group in India. Yet, official discourse has revolved essentially around issues of caste-based discrimination, by implication leaving unaddressed many other critical areas of deprivation and discrimination. 2 Until recently there were no substantive policies on the development of Muslims. This changed with the 2006 Report of the Rajinder Sachar Committee, which found that the status of Muslims in India is even worse than that of other disadvantaged communities, including scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs). The Sachar Committee Report (SCR) highlighted the deep deficiencies and deprivation of the Muslim communities. 3 The committee revealed that Muslims lagged behind in every aspect of socio-economic development, thus exposing the hollowness of the propaganda that they are being appeased. Most Muslims are much worse off, because they do not benefit from any affirmative action programme. If we take 1947 as the baseline, Muslims have suffered downward mobility. This is not a new assessment for those who have investigated the socio-economic status of Muslims in India. 4 However, the significance of the report lies in the fact that it carries with it an official stamp, and, more importantly, the report used data from state institutions, which are important sources of social statistics all around the world. It confirms that Muslims face economic deprivation, social exclusion and political underrepresentation.
