The recommendations of Rajinder Sachar committee on socio-economic and educational status of Muslims in India, were tabled in parliament. Muslims make up roughly 13 percent of India’s population of 1.1 billion. The Rajinder Sachar Committee has favoured a group of Muslims with traditional occupations as that of Scheduled Castes be designated as Most Backward Classes. Minority Affairs Minister A R Antulay said he expected the implementation of the recommendations by February. The BJP today rejected the Sachar committee report as “full of prejudices” and said it would create disharmony in the society. The seven-member committee headed by Rajinder Sachar, a former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, was set up to go into the social, economic and educational status of Muslims. The CPI-M meanwhile claimed that the report has proved wrong the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and RSS ( Sangh )stance on “Muslim appeasement”.
Offstumped gets to the bottom of the politics surrounding the Sachar Report to help parse the spin from the truth.
So what exactly did Rajinder Sachar and his Fellowship of Seven uncover. We dont exactly know because the report has not been published in the public domain. It however was distributed in Parliament and select portions of it had been leaked to the media much in advance of its official submission. It is rather strange that the selective leaking was on for many months now before the report was officially completed but there was hardly a murmur on who was leaking and why. In any case from the tid-bits gleaned from across media reports the Sachar Findings can be summarized as follows:
- percentage of Muslims in government employment was a mere 4.9 per cent of the total 88,44,669 employees
- The number of Muslims in security agencies was 3.2 per cent – 60,517 out of the total of 18,79,134 in CRPF, CISF, BSF, SSB and ‘other agencies’
- many states Muslims are significantly overrepresented in prison
- In Maharashtra, for instance, Muslims make up 10.6 percent of the population but 32.4 percent of those convicted or facing trial
- Among district judges in 15 states surveyed, 2.7 percent were Muslim
- the literacy rate is about 59 percent, compared with more than 65 percent among Indians as a whole. On average, a Muslim child attends school for three years and four months, compared with a national average of four years.
- Less than 4 percent of Muslims graduate from school, compared with 6 percent of the total population. Less than 2 percent of the students at the elite Indian Institutes of Technology are Muslim. Equally revealing, only 4 percent of Muslim children attend madrasas
From an overall Muslim empowerment standpoint Dravidian ruled Tamil Nadu and Narendra Modi Ruled Gujarat are at the top of the deck while the communist ruled West Bengal is at the bottom. There in lies the key message from the Sachar Report. For decades now since Independence we have witnessed Muslim Vote Bank Politics practiced by the Congress and the other regional outfits including the communists while paying lip service to secularism and claiming cover under protecting Minority Interests. So when the CPI-M and the Congress seek to make the case that the Sachar Report nails the BJP lie one cannot but wonder what make believe parallel universe the Congress and the Communists dwell in.
If anything the Sachar findings far from nailing any lie, make it loud and clear that Muslim Vote Bank Politics have been all about Minority Appeasement and not about Minority Empowerment. They were never really about caring for the ordinary Muslim on the road but were always about how the Congress and the Communists could trade power, entitlements and fear in exchange for the Muslim Vote Bank. Be it the Shah Bano Case, be it the kow-towing to fatwas and Ulema, be it the indulgence of the Shahi Imam on key political issues, be it Haj Subsidy or Wakf Board freebies.
In fact the most damning indictment of the Muslim Vote Bank Politics is the statistic on the crime rate within the community and the number of Muslims in Jail. In the wake of the Malegaon Blasts Offstumped had pointed out that – from Coimbatore to North Kerala to Telangana to Maharashtra to Bihar, ghetoissation of muslim majority towns is radicalizing muslim youth who have fallen behind on economic opportunities. While the fifth economic census released earlier this year showed that rural India saw free enterprise flourish it is clear that this growth has not created sufficient workforce mobility to de-ghettoise muslim the community. This explains the high rate of incidence of crime within this segment. It also explains why the Malegaon Blasts which targetted muslims were the handiwork of muslim outfits like the SIMI.
The political debate around the Sachar Report is likely to revolve around the question of reservations or affirmative actions for Muslims. The battle lines are very clearly drawn. Like the OBC reservation debate it looks like this debate too will very quickly degenerate into one about creating a culture of entitlement rather than one of empowerment and independence. Rather than focus on access to educational opportunities and subsequent empowerment it now looks certain that the Congress and its Communist allies will resort to myopics shortcuts of doling out Government jobs to Muslims.
Unless the government’s policy focus is firmly on de-ghettoization and workforce mobility any initiatives targetting religious Minorities will be mere lip service and will lead to further institutionalization of vote bank politics which we have seen fuels radicalization and shelters terrorism. When one looks at an Azim Premji heading WIPRO, an Abdul Kalam heading India, an Azharudding heading the Indian Cricket Team, an Aamir Khan or Shahrukh Khan captivating minds and hearts, one sees a succesful Indian professional not a Muslim. One has to only travel to Hyderabad to see how scores of Muslim I.T. professionals have done well for themselves in a Microsoft or a Infosys rendering religious identity irrelavant.
In the run up to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, the nation is faced with a very important choice - should it promote the Congress/Communist myopic vote bank politics of extending reservations to muslims or should it rather do what is really expected of a secular government which is make religious identity irrelvant through ubiquitous access to opportunities and thus empowerment.
The Nation would do well to pay attention to an instructive case study on how Muslim Vote Bank Politics can hurt the nation. Loook at what the illigeal immigration from Bangladesh into Assam and West Bengal is doing to our democracy. By cultivating the migrants muslims from Bangladesh as a captive vote bank and by refusing to act tough on the illilegality of their migration, the Congress in Assam sowed the seeds for perennial strife in that state. The Communists in neighbouring West Bengal who paid further lip service to secularism while exploiting these immigrant votes, and doing little to improve their lot. Now you have a situation where the proliferation of Islamic Terror from Bangladesh is on the upswing. And this proliferation has ample safe havens to thrive with the rise of Islamic a concerted movement by Muslim bodies to consolidate a Islamic Vote Bank which in Assam saw the Badruddin Ajmal AUDF bag 10 seats while polling just a mere 24% of the votes in an election that saw 70-80% turnout. The lesson from Assam was that despite a fragmented polity, there was sufficient consolidation of Muslim votes behind an upapologetically Muslim Political Outfit to ensure electoral victory despite very high overall voter turnouts and a very low vote share to the Muslim outfit. The twin effect of Muslim Vote Bank Politics is that it will not only promote unapologetically religious politics but will also further polarize the society as the vote consolidation in favor of one religion is bound to provoke a similar vote polarization in favor of the other religion.
Offstumped Bottomline: For all the spin from the communists and the congress, the message from the Sachar Report is loud and clear – Muslim Vote Bank Politics have lead to Minority Appeasement not Minority Empowerment. Any talk of Reservations or that fancy american catch phrase Affirmative Action is nothing but Muslim Vote Bank Politics and must be rejected wholesale. Recognizing Madrassas as a formal education centers is dangerous and a retrograde step. The Government would do well to focus its attention on access to education and opportunities rather than dole out State Sponsored Entitlements.
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[...] Offstumped comments on the Justice Sachar committee findings or rather on what has been leaked to the media. [...]
BANG on target buddy!
The full report is now available at
http://indianmuslim.gov.in/pmhlc_report.pdf
I feel shame to call my nation as a secular democratic nation. This injustice is requaring an investigation by a committee after 60 years of democracy.
we the people of india has done a great injustice to the minority.
krishnmarthy
This is very strange and shamefull too
our nation is secular this is good in only books
that is fact
The question of proportional distribution of resources led to partition of our country, an average Muslim family early daily wage, each family earns enough to make sure the wards go to school , instead they chose to earn and education ,means only at Madrasa . The man who headed the committee has been asking for separation of Kashmir from the country on Human rights grounds….he has been shedding tears for all antinational under the guise of human rights……
The communist & Congress have planed up to build a solid foundation for another partition sooner….
Majority of Indian feel that most of the minorities are alien and does not deserve the right to exist, if this is the feeling what will happen to Indians who are migrating to USA, UK and Australia? If these countries treat migrated Indian in same way as like in India, very soon our cream of Migrated Indian next generations will become rich to rags. My point here is when you consider minorities as citizen then it duty of government to support for their all round development in well balanced way. There is nothing wrong to provide reservation based on status instead of caste or religion.
i would say that the issue of minority is of high concern from day one… and when Mr Sachar’s team have put this much effort for this issue, government should take favourable steps for the upliftment of this segment. Moreover this is required for the development of the country as a whole. This is what i feel. Thanks to offstumped!
stap for again partition
The sachar committee report is revelutionary step to upliftment of minorities in india after postindipendence, If the govt of india impliment the report without any hesitation it will great success in indian secular democracy.
Although is very difficult to accept this but its true and i must accept this. I am optimestic about implementation of Sachar report. Implimentation of report will be the first ever legal decleration form Indian government that ‘we are not secular’. But this will be the first stape towards social empowerment of minorities specially Muslims.
I also fell good that we are heading towards real secularisum and real democracy.
1)The terms of appointment of Justice Sachar Committee is a great fraud. The terms do not contain finding out undelying reasons for backwardness of Muslims.
2)How,a community, which rejects in the name of religion, compulsory family planning and common Civil Procedure code, which have a vital bearing on economic and social advancement, will prosper?
3)If there was persecution of Muslims in India,why Muslims in Pakistan, who practice Shariat, their pet theme, are also poor and backward?
4)The recent report published in Great Britain, shows that ‘Muslims’ is the most backward (socially and economically) community in that Country. So, it is a universal phenomenon, so its roots must be in the very value system of Muslims.
5) How can one explain the better standard of living of Muslims in communal Gujarat than that in secular West Bengal or U.P.?
6)Unless they adapt themselves to contemporary, modern thinking, how they can progress? The reservations,alms, support by governments is only a political gimmick; it at the most may bring marginal improvements in the life of a few handful of any community. But, such practice leads to political blackmailing, and one-upman-ship.It develops slovenly and parasitic mentality.
7)In China, when, one child norm was made compulsory, a Muslim clergy of Shanghai protested that it was against the tenets of Islam. He was gunned down.Probably, Muslims in China must be on a rapid path of progress now.
8)Singapore, a few decades ago, was considered to be capable of producing only coolies. But, with leader like Lee Kuan Yew, who advocated only ‘merit’as criteria for everything, and cumpulsory rules for everybody, today Singapore is one of the most advanced economy.
7)While appointing judges on commisions, why always judges with leftist leaning are chosen? Again, when press or media discusses any social issue why only professors from JNU are preferred as experts ? It itself is an indication of the lack of objectivity of such activities.
8)Muslims, should develop a faculty to compare their own behaviour with that of people from their own community, who have progreesed in education and economic status. This will throw a light on many aspects like attitude,time management,number of children which contribute to prosperity and status.
9)Indian muslims would do well to make use of the freedom of democracy that they enjoy over here and change themselves in tune with the time instead of looking to the advice of other Muslim countries, who propagate fanatism and medievel practices in the name of religion.
whence this country get freedom so many commission and committees has been constituted to resolve the problems of minoirites ans sepcially for muslims. I think this is the very first commissin which take some special stuffs to understand the root ofthe problem which surrouns in the country at persent what the role have to pay the muslim and what the government has done with the muslim in the last four decades. i think this is the very good report wich stiumlized muslim to take over the chage of all the good things which thy left in the past the commission especially englights on education whicch empower the nation and community as well as the whol socitry whcih lies in the whole world.
that is very shamefull to all nation
And need to this recomandetion apply urgently
I think this report is eye opening for nation.Congress now samajvadi party and cPM all are using muslim as vote bank .muslim appeasment is limited up to roza aftar and idd milan .Now muslim community should ask for employment food right to participate in politcs and specialy right of muslim women.
why are muslims considered as a minority when they roughly constitute one-fifth of india.Nodoubt muslims are backward when compared to their counterparts , this can be overcome by not considering them second class indians , providing ample opportunities for downtrodden sections and having faith in them that we are indians first than anything else .
[...] I am at it let me also thank you and Justice Rajinder Sachar for undertaking a head count of Muslims in the armed forces and elsewhere now we can be politically [...]
Your article is misleading…where you got the data on AUDF getting 24% ? can you please show reference. In this age of all election data available online at the State Election Commission websites you still try to create ‘fear psychosis” among people by RSS type propaganda like this.
2. And for your information you were talking of Muslim Vote Bank electing 10 MLAs from AUDF but you ignorant of the fact that out of these 10 MLAs one is a Dimasa – Dr Aditya Langthasa – Dy Leader of the AUDF Party ( He is a Tribal – a Doctor with MD degree) and another is a Hindu – Sri Guneshar Das. “…
3. Are you aware of the fact that millions of Hindus have also entered Assam and often harassed by local police, given foreigners’ notice, marked “Doubtful Voter” in the electoral list ? This kind of propaganda will ultimately fan the likes of “Assam for Assamese” sentiments that you can not control by putting Hindu-Muslim theory. Recently many people from Bihar were pushed back from Assam without letting him join their posts in Railways. The results of such communal propaganda is coming forth.
Please for God’s sake dont let your communal mind also pass into public space…at least some of us have access to information from correct sources.
Baruah – the reference was to poll % in specific seats like
26-Bilasipara West- Assam
82-Raha- Assam
which were won despite very low vote share.
[...] and a false sense of justice called Social Justice. The results range from Communal Socialism, Minority appeasement, Vote bank politics and the incendiary politics of affirmative [...]
Minority vote bank politics and RSS
Indian politics has divided the society more than it has united. Politicians have fragmented the society in various castes, class, religious groups in order to solidify their vote banks. Slogans of communalisation and secularisms have been invented by them. Only those parties are ruling over the society who have proved themselves as saviour of minorities. The result is very much to see. Hatred among communities has increased and it has reached to the level of animosity. The situation is now explosive. Every body has closed its door and they want to have a price of their vote at any cost. Minorities (Muslim and Christian) have threatened it implement Rangnath Misra Commission Report with immediate effect otherwise they will show their strength in the next parliamentary elections.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have always alleged UPA of adopting policy of appeasement towards minorities. All other parties which include communists and Congress have labeled RSS as anti-minority. Due to growing terrorism in the country thousands of people lost their lives. A particular section of people have been caught in large numbers engaged in Pakistan sponsored proxy-war. Due to strict measures of security forces; secular parties sometimes feel threatened. Then, these parties raise questions on the functioning of security forces. And irony is that security forces
are governed by these same parties.
Minorities played pivotal role in bringing Congress into power again. After a long time Muslim community have returned in the Congress fold. Congress is trying every trick so that Muslims could continue their newfound affinity towards congress. However, only spoiler in the game is continued arrests of Muslim youths in related to terrorist activities. Batla house encounter exposed the desperation of Congress High command. Digvijay Singh, party general-secretary and close aide of Rahul Gandhi blatantly came in support of popular Muslim stand. Congress cannot take risk of alienation of Muslims at this juncture. Digvijay Singh, in order to appease Muslims, is continuously hitting at RSS. He even compared RSS to Laskar.
More intellectual and scholarly P. Chidambaram even termed a new slogan saffron terror and moving two step further Rahul Gandhi compared RSS to banned SIMI. Sangh is being attacked from all corners. Their game plan did not bear satisfactory fruit; they have tried to portray Sangh as terrorist organisation. Those indulged in a politics of a particular section could not tolerate an organised, aware and dutiful society. It is important for them that society continues to be divided. They have started vicious propaganda war against Sangh and it is being propagated that Sangh is root cause of all evils in the country be it violence, anarchy, confrontation, terrorism and even natural calamity.
However, Sangh has again presented its cultural legacy of more than eight decades. Millions of Sangh activists peacefully protested against irresponsible statements made by various Congress leaders. No violence was reported at any place in this protest. In between former Sarsanghachalak made a personal accusation on Mrs. Sonia Gandhi that made Congress leader sulking. So called secular Congress activists vandalized Sangh offices at various places. Though, Sangh regretted on this statement but the issue was raised at various platforms earlier. Congress should stand that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi is not beyond question and that they are not running a company called ‘India’.
Those who allege Sangh of perpetrating communalism; they fail to explain which section does Sangh represent. Yes! Sangh talks about Hindus and is this evil? If Christians can be faithful to Holy Vatican and Muslim can be faithful to Mecca; then why Hindus cannot do the same. Church realises that Sangh is the biggest threat that is why Sangh is on the target of church establishment. Church wants to cut the umbilical cord of Hindus from its cultural roots. Only then it will be successful to establish its dominance in the country. What is unfortunate that greedy politicians have not tried to contain the vested interest of church for their own selfish reasons? Sangh is not against any community. It is highly disciplined. Its work is visible to world every day. Patriotism is its identity and to serve the human kind is its main objective. There is no place for hatred in Sangh ideology. Those who make false allegations have their own interests.
R.L Francis
President – Poor Christian Liberation Movement
Email: pclmfrancis@gmail.com
Indian politics has divided the society more than it has united. Politicians have fragmented the society in various castes, class, religious groups in order to solidify their vote banks. Slogans of communalisation and secularisms have been invented by them. Only those parties are ruling over the society who have proved themselves as saviour of minorities. The result is very much to see. Hatred among communities has increased and it has reached to the level of animosity. The situation is now explosive. Every body has closed its door and they want to have a price of their vote at any cost. Minorities (Muslim and Christian) have threatened it implement Rangnath Misra Commission Report with immediate effect otherwise they will show their strength in the next parliamentary elections.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have always alleged UPA of adopting policy of appeasement towards minorities. All other parties which include communists and Congress have labeled RSS as anti-minority. Due to growing terrorism in the country thousands of people lost their lives. A particular section of people have been caught in large numbers engaged in Pakistan sponsored proxy-war. Due to strict measures of security forces; secular parties sometimes feel threatened. Then, these parties raise questions on the functioning of security forces. And irony is that security forces
are governed by these same parties.
Minorities played pivotal role in bringing Congress into power again. After a long time Muslim community have returned in the Congress fold. Congress is trying every trick so that Muslims could continue their newfound affinity towards congress. However, only spoiler in the game is continued arrests of Muslim youths in related to terrorist activities. Batla house encounter exposed the desperation of Congress High command. Digvijay Singh, party general-secretary and close aide of Rahul Gandhi blatantly came in support of popular Muslim stand. Congress cannot take risk of alienation of Muslims at this juncture. Digvijay Singh, in order to appease Muslims, is continuously hitting at RSS. He even compared RSS to Laskar.
More intellectual and scholarly P. Chidambaram even termed a new slogan saffron terror and moving two step further Rahul Gandhi compared RSS to banned SIMI. Sangh is being attacked from all corners. Their game plan did not bear satisfactory fruit; they have tried to portray Sangh as terrorist organisation. Those indulged in a politics of a particular section could not tolerate an organised, aware and dutiful society. It is important for them that society continues to be divided. They have started vicious propaganda war against Sangh and it is being propagated that Sangh is root cause of all evils in the country be it violence, anarchy, confrontation, terrorism and even natural calamity.
However, Sangh has again presented its cultural legacy of more than eight decades. Millions of Sangh activists peacefully protested against irresponsible statements made by various Congress leaders. No violence was reported at any place in this protest. In between former Sarsanghachalak made a personal accusation on Mrs. Sonia Gandhi that made Congress leader sulking. So called secular Congress activists vandalized Sangh offices at various places. Though, Sangh regretted on this statement but the issue was raised at various platforms earlier. Congress should stand that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi is not beyond question and that they are not running a company called ‘India’.
Those who allege Sangh of perpetrating communalism; they fail to explain which section does Sangh represent. Yes! Sangh talks about Hindus and is this evil? If Christians can be faithful to Holy Vatican and Muslim can be faithful to Mecca; then why Hindus cannot do the same. Church realises that Sangh is the biggest threat that is why Sangh is on the target of church establishment. Church wants to cut the umbilical cord of Hindus from its cultural roots. Only then it will be successful to establish its dominance in the country. What is unfortunate that greedy politicians have not tried to contain the vested interest of church for their own selfish reasons? Sangh is not against any community. It is highly disciplined. Its work is visible to world every day. Patriotism is its identity and to serve the human kind is its main objective. There is no place for hatred in Sangh ideology. Those who make false allegations have their own interests.
R.L Francis
Arshad says:
if the report is come into existence. so, why not our government implement such program that the muslims come into mainstream. Majority always dominate on minorities. Why it is happen? the biggest question arise in my mind.
If our government not looking to muslims then I request two u please separate us from India. i mean make a new islamic countries. i am sorry i write these sentence but it is the need of time because those muslims who are rich or with the mainstream is only due to Gulf counties because we can’t get a job in india because due to discrimination.
I really thank Mr. Saccar who made a right report.