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Minority Report

Sachar Committee
Findings And How Do We Use Them?

The two Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the entire day on Monday, 11th December 2006 for the main opposition party, reacted sharply to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remark made at a meeting of the National Development Council (NDC). The PM is believed to have said that the minorities, in particular, the Muslims, should have the first claim over national resources. The BJP called it an awful, divisive and condemnable statement and demanded an apology from the PM. Such political bickering will continue till the conclusion of the elections in Uttar Pradesh. Thus, the socio-economic and educational backwardness of the largest religious minority of India has been reduced to a political stratagem.

How did it all begin?

It all started with the constitution of a high-level committee by the Prime Minister to collect authentic information about the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of India. The seven-member Committee was headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar and it took about two years to cull the required data. The right wing outfits that have been objecting to such an exercise from the beginning obviously let pass a crucial point. No state can truly progress and develop if large segments of its population remain appallingly backward. The institution of the state is like an organism. Therefore, we cannot allow its ailing parts to destroy the whole. The PM was justified in constituting the Sachar Committee as there were indications of the plight of the Muslims first in the Census of India of 2001 and later in the National Sample Survey Organisation of 2004.

What does the Report reveal?

The Sachar Committee report that was tabled in the Parliament on November 30, 2006, portrays a grim picture of the Muslims (17 % as per an estimate) as they have been reduced to be the most underdeveloped section of society. The Muslims lag behind almost all other segments of society in terms of most of the socio-economic and educational indices. Their educational index is dismal as only 56% Muslims are literate while merely 3.6 % of them are graduates - the lowest among all the religious communities. Their share in central services is pegged at less than 3% while in no state except Jammu & Kashmir do Muslims comprise more than 11 % of government servants. The most revealing statistics are from West Bengal where the Muslims constitute 25% of the population whereas their share in government jobs is only 4.2 per cent. The Leftist government led by the CPI (M), that has been in power in that state for more than a quarter of a century, being a harbinger of secularism and the rights of the minorities, has a lot to explain. Other statistics are similarly appalling. For instance 94.9% of the Muslims living below poverty line don't get food grains. In rural India, 60.2% of Muslims don't own land and only 1% own hand pumps or tube wells. These are alarming findings indeed and it is equally true that immediate corrective measures are badly needed. Nevertheless, of all the conceivable remedial actions the least desired is reservations for the Muslims. There are social, political and economic reasons for this line of argument.

Why reservations may not be the best solution …

An overwhelming majority of Muslims proudly struggle to make a living as petty traders, skilled workers, artisans, weavers, tanners, mechanics, taxi/auto-rickshaw drivers, landless farmers, menial labourers, etc. The false hope of getting a cushy government job on a platter will snatch away the fighting spirit that is the driving force for most of the common Muslims. In all likelihood the quotas will make them appear a social liability in the eyes of most Indians. The quotas may also end up accentuating the sense of religious identity among them that may consequently further strengthen the position of the mullas in the community. This can slot the Muslims in a permanent communal category. Politically it could lead to a consolidation of Hindu votes and will politically help the right wing parties. But, most importantly the religion-based quotas for Muslims or, for that matter, any religious community will be a serious setback to the secular foundations of the polity that are already shaken because of the communal onslaughts during the last decade and half. It needs to be taken into account that the history of the last 55 years of independent India is a testimony to the fact that despite constitutional provisions, reservations have not helped an overwhelming majority of the SCs and STs. The beneficiaries comprise miniscule sections of the Dalits who have had access to higher education. Quotas by their very nature help those who are already in a position to take advantage of them. In case of quotas in educational institutions and employment, the most likely beneficiaries will be the members of the middle class. There is hardly any middle class worth the name among the Muslims. Therefore, the quotas will not be of much help to a huge section of the community. Lastly, the cost of providing quotas is enormous. The Union and State governments in India are already overburdened because of 50% reservations they have to make available to various caste groups. Any further addition to the quota category will surely lead to financial disaster.

What could be the best corrective measures?

We have to find other practical and expedient corrective measures to better the socio-economic conditions of the Muslims. The Sachar Committee findings do pose a challenge to the secular, democratic governance of India. However, we must not respond to the dismal statistics compiled by the Committee with a kneejerk reaction. If we do, we may impair the secular character of the polity. The simplest corrective measure to improve the lot of the Muslims is to stick to secularism as an operative principle of the running administration. If the Muslim percentage in government is abysmally low, one of the main reason is the prejudice against the community. It is imperative that the recruitment procedure is truly transparent so that deserving Muslim youths join the public services.

It is more important to streamline financial procedures, so that loans are easily available to a sizeable section of the community that is business-inclined and does not always get the necessary support to become self-employed.

The most important exigency is to improve the educational status of the Muslims. This does not require reserving seats for them in educational institutions but making available educational infrastructure and opportunities to them. If the UPA government is really sincere about helping Muslims improve their socio-economic and educational conditions, it should see to it that the enrolment of Muslim children in schools increases, their drop-out rate decreases and they have fair and judicious opportunities to join institutions of higher and professional education. A Muslim should earn his rightful position in Indian society on account of his merit rather than on charity.