On status of Muslims in India
Regional-India, Culture, 12/2/2006

The Sachar Committee Report on social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community in India was tabled in both the Houses of Parliament today.

The Minister of Minorities Affairs, Mr. A.R. Antulay tabled it in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) amid noisy protests from opposition parties.

The Committee was constituted by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to know the status of the community in these fields media reports said.

Talking to the reporters, Antulay asserted that the 'Report' will be implemented.

On a question of reservation to Muslims, he said there is no need for reservation for the community but justice should be given to them in education and services.

He said the word minority has been misused by some political parties. He said that reservation in jobs is not the only way to make the community advanced.

The Rajinder Sachar Committee has favoured a group of Muslims with traditional occupations as that of Scheduled Castes be designated as Most Backward Classes (MBCs) and provided "multifarious measures" including reservation.

The panel has said Muslims in the country have three groups in terms of their social structure.

These are ashrafs, ajlafs and arzals.

"The three groups require different types of affirmative action," said the report.

Of the three groups, arzals whose traditional occupation is similar to that of SCs (Scheduled Casts), may be designated as MBCs and provided reservation.

This particular group, the panel said, needs multifarious measures including reservation as it remains "cumulatively oppressed." Antulay added that the report is the 'best thing' that has happened to the community.

The issue of reservation has been dealt in the chapter on 'Muslim OBCs (Other Backward Classes) and Affirmative Action'.

Observing that a 'very small' proportion of government/public sectors employees are Muslims, concentrated in lower level positions, the panel recommended that it may be desirable to have minority persons on interview panels.

The formation of the committee had created an uproar in Parliament last year due to the panel's reported move to seek a head count of Muslims in the defense forces.

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 committee, which submitted its report on 17th November, was set up in March this year and its tenure was extended up to 30th November.

Recognise Degrees From Madrasas: The Sachar Committee report also has recommended that degrees from Madrasas (Muslim Religious Schools) be recognized for eligibility in competitive examinations and at least one Muslim Police Inspector be deputed in Muslim-concentrated areas.

The report also recommended constitution of an Equal Opportunity Commission to look into the grievances of deprived groups and elimination of anomalies with respect to reserved Constituencies under the de-limitation scheme.

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