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Book No. – 22 (Sociology)
Book Name – Indian Society & Culture (Nadeem Hasnain)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. MUSLIMS
1.1. Economic Scene
1.2. Education
1.3. Social Condition
1.4. Political Status
2. CHRISTIANS
3. SIKHS
4. LINGUISTIC MINORITIES
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LANGUAGE
Religious and Linguistic Minorities
Chapter – 15
Table of Contents
- India is known as a nation of pluralism and multiculturalism, with people speaking hundreds of languages and following all major religions.
- There are substantial socio-economic and demographic differentials among religious communities in India, primarily due to socio-cultural and historical reasons.
- The Constitution of India uses the term minority but does not define it explicitly.
- Minority is derived from the Latin word ‘minor’ and refers to the smaller group within a larger aggregate.
- Webster’s Dictionary defines minority as a group characterized by a sense of separate identity and awareness of status apart from a larger group.
- Oxford English Dictionary defines minority as the condition of being smaller, inferior, or subordinate, or a number less than half the whole.
- The statistical criterion is common in defining minority, but it can also be defined by certain characteristics like common descent, physical traits, traditions, customs, language, or religion.
- Minority status is also based on sense of unity and difference from the majority, which can lead to political or other claims.
- Differential treatment from the majority or self-imposed status can determine a group’s minority status.
- Sumanta Banerjee (1999) adds that in the context of human rights, minority refers to a non-dominant and disadvantaged group, not just a numerical concept.
- In India, Muslims are an example of a disadvantaged minority group.
- The Constitution of India does not define minority, but it recognizes religious and linguistic minorities through specific articles.
- Articles in the Constitution related to minorities:
- Article 29(1): Rights of citizens to conserve distinct language, script, or culture.
- Article 30: Right of minorities (based on religion or language) to establish and manage educational institutions.
- Article 350A: States must provide facilities for mother tongue instruction at the primary education level for linguistic minorities.
- Article 350B: Appointment of a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to safeguard their rights and report to the President.
- Judicial pronouncements often provide interpretation due to the absence of a formal definition of minority.
- The Constitution of India enshrines internationally recognized normative principles regarding minorities.
- In practice, the term minority is primarily used in relation to religious communities like Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jews, Buddhists, and Jains, which are considered non-Hindu communities.
- These non-Hindu communities are categorized as religious minorities in India.
MUSLIMS
- Muslims in India are the largest and most important religious minority in the country.
- Despite being a minority in numerical strength, India has the second largest Muslim population in the world, after Indonesia.
- Muslims make up about 12% of India’s total population.
- They are distributed across all regions, states, and union territories in India, in varying numbers.
- Muslims are in the majority in Jammu and Kashmir and Lakshdweep.
- They constitute a significant minority in several other states:
- Over 20% in Assam, Kerala, and West Bengal.
- 10-20% in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Karnataka.
- 5-10% in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
- Most numerous in terms of absolute numbers in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
- In the remaining states, Muslims constitute 1-5% of the population.
- In states like Sikkim, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, Muslims are less than 1% of the population.
- States with higher percentages of Muslims do not necessarily have larger absolute numbers of Muslims.
- A significant demographic feature of Muslims is their higher urban population, with about 35% or more living in urban areas.
- This urban presence has significant implications for their economic profile and access to healthcare and education.
Economic Scene
- Muslims in India are an educationally and economically backward community.
- A majority of Muslims live in abject poverty, with 43% of the Muslim population below the poverty line, higher than the national average.
- In rural areas, Muslims are mostly landless and lack access to employment and other wage employment opportunities.
- 53% of Muslims are self-employed, earning livelihoods through petty business, small-scale enterprises, and low-paid jobs.
- In rural areas, they are mostly agricultural laborers and artisans, while in urban areas, they work in artisan and industrial sectors.
- Women’s participation in the workforce among Muslims is significantly lower, with women contributing largely through household jobs, especially in urban areas (e.g., bidi making, chikan work in Lucknow).
- Muslims have historically been excellent artisans, but mechanization, industrialization, and lack of access to institutional finance have reduced them to wage labor and ownership of these units is limited.
- Muslims are substantially present in industries such as:
- Bangles, glassware (Ferozabad, U.P.)
- Woolen, woodwork (Saharanpur, U.P.)
- Carpets (Bhadohi, Mirzapur, U.P.)
- Brasspots (Moradabad, U.P.)
- Lungi (Madras, TN)
- Handloom (Madras, Bhiwandi)
- Chikan embroidery (Lucknow, U.P.)
- Leather (Kanpur, U.P.)
- Scissors (Calcutta, Madras)
- Silk (Meerut, U.P.)
- Woolen shawls, carpets (Kashmir)
- Locks (Aligarh, U.P.)
- In some industries, Muslims dominate, while in others, they are mostly wage earners.
- Reports from National Sample Survey (1988), Reserve Bank of India (1992), and Gopal Singh Committee (1984)paint a dismal picture of Muslims’ socio-economic status:
- 52.3% of Muslims live below the poverty line, earning Rs 160 or less per month.
- 50.5% of Muslims are illiterate.
- Only 4% of Muslims completed high school.
- Only 1.6% of college graduates are Muslims.
- Only 4.4% of Indians in government jobs are Muslims.
- Only 3.7% of Muslims received financial assistance for starting a business.
- Only 5% of industrial loans from government banks went to Muslims.
- Only 2% of loans from the government went to Muslims.
- These figures primarily concern the public sector, where communal discrimination is more difficult to hide.
- Private sector discrimination is much larger, more effective, and more hidden.
- The gap between Muslims and other communities remains wide, even over a decade later.
- The 55th round of the NSSO survey paints a depressing scenario:
- A larger proportion of Muslims suffer from low levels of consumption. 29% of rural Muslims have monthly consumption under Rs 300, compared to 26% of rural Hindus.
- Muslims are at a disadvantage in land cultivation: 51% of Muslim households with land cultivate little or none, compared to 40% of others.
- Unemployment rates are slightly higher among Muslims in rural areas, with illiteracy rates also higher.
- 48% of rural Muslims above the age of 7 are illiterate, and 30% in urban areas are illiterate.
- Muslims continue to perform poorly in consumption, education, employment, and land holdings.
- According to NSSO, 90% of India’s poor are from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, and Muslims.
- Muslims are underrepresented in civil services:
- 2.86% in IAS, 2% in IPS, 3.04% in Group ‘A’ services, and 2% in banks and other public sector undertakings.
- They are also poorly represented in medical and engineering colleges.
- The underdevelopment of Indian Muslims is both a Muslim and Indian problem.
- The Subgroup on Minorities (1996) by the Planning Commission shows no significant improvement.
- However, some Muslims, like Azim Premji of WIPRO, CIPLA, and others, continue to make a significant impact in the economy.
- A small elite Muslim group exists, but their progress is limited.