Problems related to muslim

minorities in Bihar

A study on concepts, techniques, provisions

Submitted to: Dr Sangeet Kumar

Submitted by: Inzmamul Haque

Student, Ist year, Ist semester,Roll-933

Chanakya National Law University

1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am feeling highly elated to work on the topic “Problem related to muslim minorities”

under the guidance of my Sociology teacher Dr Sangeet Kumar . I am very grateful to

him for his exemplary guidance. I would like to enlighten my readers regarding this

topic and I hope I have tried my best to pave the way for bringing more luminosity

to this topic.

I also want to thank all of my friends, without whose cooperation this project was

not possible. Apart from all these, I want to give special thanks to the librarian of

my university who made every relevant materials regarding to my topic available to

me at the time of my busy research work and gave me assistance. And at last I am

very much obliged to the God who provided me the potential for the rigorous

research work.

At finally yet importantly I would like to thank my parents for the financial support.

-----------------Thanking You

Aims and objectives:-

I. To know about the history of Muslims.

II. To know about the problems faced by Muslim minorities in societies.

III. To know about the government views on problems of Muslim minorities.

Hypothesis:-

For the topic the hypothesis is the problems of the Muslim minorities in day to day life is

being a major rapid growing problem and also leading to the unemployment and lack of

education.

Research methodology:-

For the research of concerned topic the researcher had opted the most important way of

research. He has used doctrinal and non doctrinal research (field work). In doctrinal the

researcher did the online study and also a bit study of book. For in doctrinal research he

interviewed some people of these minorities.

Sources of Data:Sources of Data:

The researcher will use both the Doctrinal and Non-Doctrinal method research. The following The researcher will use both the Doctrinal and Non-Doctrinal method research. The following

secondary sources of data have been used in the project-secondary sources of data have been used in the project-

1.1. Articles.Articles.

2.2. BooksBooks

3.3. JournalsJournals

4.4. WebsitesWebsites

In non Doctrinal information is derived from personal interaction and queries made during In non Doctrinal information is derived from personal interaction and queries made during

interaction.interaction.

Table of contents

1. Introduction................................................

2. History of Muslim In India........................

3. Present status of Muslim.............................

4. Problems of Muslim minorities...................

5. Government schemes

For Muslim minorities.................................

6. Field work and data analysis.......................

7. Conclusions................................................

Introduction:

A Muslim represent group of Islam a monotheistic Abrahmic religion based on Quran

which Muslim consider the verbatim word of god as revealed to prophet Muhammad.

India is one of the largest democracies in the world so obviously it has one of the

largest minorities.

It is not difficult to see why Muslims

who live as a minority in non-Muslim country like Israel or India are seen by them as

a problem. The reasons are very simple wherever Muslim live as minorities they

increasingly face problems of discrimination.

Islam means the active submission to the one God. It is strictly a monotheistic

religion since it restricts worship to the one supreme Lord who is the Originator and

Creator of the universe. Peace (the root from which the word Islam is derived) is

attained through complete obedience to the commandments of God, for God is the

source of all peace. Muslims are those who believe in one God and in Muhammad

as the final Prophet of God. They devote their lives to the service of God, the Creator

and sustainers of the universe.

One, like other minorities, Muslims simultaneously face, problems relating to

security, identity and equity. And the interplay of these dimensions is at the core of

the socio-economic and political processes that the Community is exposed to on a

daily basis. Two, the nature of these problems vary across ‘spaces’ – education,

employment, political and social – and probably over time.

These are partly due to historical and political factors, partly due to the media, which

have confirmed for many that Muslims are violent, unreliable and prone to anarchy.

There is another reason. Most non-Muslim countries in which Muslims live have an

image of themselves as plural, tolerant, secular and modern societies.“ Muslims

somehow challenge this image. They provoke the worst aspects of the state. In the

main, instead of solving the problems of the Muslims in a manner that would be

mutually beneficial, the state tends to ignore or minimize them. In the former state of

Yugoslavia the Serbs went one step further with their Muslim minority.”1

1 Anonymous, http://muslimcanada.org/livingislam4.html, accessed on 24-10-2013 at 07:45 IST

Indian Muslims, on the whole, are a marginalized community in terms of various

economic, social and political indices is a well-known fact, and one which is

acknowledged by the state as well. How the problems of the community, particularly

the protection and promotion of their rights and their empowerment, can be

articulated more effectively, by Muslim as well as secular and progressive groups are

a major concern. The crucial point here is that articulating Muslim problems and

concerns should not be seen, as is often seen by many Muslims and non-Muslims

alike, as simply something to be done by Muslims alone. 

History of Muslim in India:-

‘‘Even before the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in the 600s,

Arab traders were in contact with India. Merchants would regularly sail to the west

coast of India to trade goods such as spices, gold, and African goods. Naturally,

when the Arabs began to convert to Islam, they carried their new religion to the

shores of India. The first mosque of India, the Cheraman Juma Masjid, was built in

629 (during the life of Prophet Muhammad) in Kerala, by the first Muslim from

India, Cheraman Perumal Bhaskara Ravi Varma. Through continued trade between

Arab Muslims and Indians, Islam continued to spread in coastal Indian cities and

towns, both through immigration and conversion.”2

While some claim that Islam’s huge population in India is a result of violence and

forced conversion, the evidence does not back up this idea at all. Although Muslim

leaders replaced Hindu kings in most areas, society was left as is. Stories of forced

conversion are very few and often not credible enough to warrant academic

discussion.

If Islam spread through violence and warfare, the Muslim community today in India

would exist only in the areas closest to the rest of the Muslim world. Thus only the

western part of the subcontinent would have any Muslim population at all. What we

see instead is pockets of Islam throughout the subcontinent.  For example,

Bangladesh and its 150 million Muslims are in the far east, separated from other

Muslim-majority areas by Hindu lands in India. Isolated communities of Muslims exist

also exist in western Myanmar, central India, and eastern Sri Lanka. These

communities of Muslims are proof of Islam spreading peacefully throughout India,

2 Anonymous, http://lostislamichistory.com/how-islam-spread-in-india/, accessed on 24-10-2013 at 07:56 IST

regardless of whether or not a Muslim government existed there. If Islam spread by

force as some claim, these communities of Muslims would not exist.

The Muslim immigrants, mostly Arabs, Turks, Afghans and Mughals, made the sub-

continent their own homeland. Scattered in different cities, towns and villages, they

became indistinguishable from the original inhabitants of India. ‘‘The Muslim scholars

and religious leaders propagated Islam among the original inhabitants and a large

number of them converted to Islam. The vast majority of the present-day Indian

Muslims are the descendants of these converts’’3. It is therefore not correct to say

that Indian Muslims are not Indian but outsiders as it is wrong to say that they are all

descendants of the converted Muslims. As far as the question of Indian origin is

concerned, there is no difference between the descendants of the Aryan invaders

(Brahmins, Kshatryas, Vaishyas) and the offsprings of the Muslim immigrants. In

fact, the Muslim community of India, with its major segment having indigenous Indian

origin, is more Indian than the descendants of the Aryan immigrants who had their

origin some where in the Central Asia.

Present status of Muslim in India:-The socio-economic backwardness of the Muslim community in India was underlined

by the Justice Sachar Committee report. Then came the Ranganathan Mishra

Commission report which recommended 10 per cent job reservation for Muslims

because the community occupied the lowest rank in the human development index.

Now, on the heels of these two reports, the National Council for Applied Economic

Research has come out with data about the economic status of Muslims in the

country that makes dismal reading. The NCAER report says that one-third of

Muslims in India survive on less than Rs 550 a month. In other words, three out of 10

of them lived below the poverty line in 2004-05. Even among the poor, urban

Muslims were slightly better off compared to Muslims living in the villages who

survived on Rs 338 a month during the year under review.

Now National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), a central government body, has

confirmed that India’s largest religious minority is the most backward community on

the educational front. Muslims’ ratio in higher education is lower than even

Scheduled Tribes (STs), considered most backward.

3 Anonymous, http://www.islamawareness.net/Asia/India/muslims_in_india.html, last accessed on 24-10-2013 at 08:07 IST

Attached to the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, NSSO,

in its report titled “Education in India, 2007-08: Participation and Expenditure”, says

that of 100 Muslims in the education system, just 10 are enrolled in high school and

above. Similar ratio for STs is 11, Scheduled Castes (SCs) 12 and Other Backward

Classes (OBCs) 14.

‘‘The report also says that high education among urban Muslims is lower than their

counterparts in rural areas. This despite the fact that urban areas have better

educational facilities. According to the NSSO report published on May 19, just seven

out of 100 urban Muslims in the education system were enrolled in high school or

above as compared to 12 in rural areas.’’4

Christians lead all communities – religious and social – in pursing education,

followed by Sikhs and OBCs. The report is based on the household survey on

participation and expenditure in education conducted in its 64th round. The field work

of the nationwide survey was carried out during July 2007 to June 2008. 

The survey covered a random sample of 445960 persons, from 63318 rural

households and 37263 urban households spread over 7953 villages and 4682 urban

blocks, covering the entire geographical area of the country.

It is most likely this fresh report highlighting the plight of the Muslim community will

give fresh blood to the demand of reservation for the community in education and

job.

The three reports obviously belied the allegation of certain political parties and

groups that Muslims are being appeased. It is, however, true, that 63 years after

Independence, Muslims were being used merely as a vote bank by all the political

parties and no worthwhile administrative action to improve their socio-economic

condition was taken by any government.

Under the circumstances, it is imperative for the government to come out with a

comprehensive plan to improve the condition of Muslims. But it is equally necessary

for Muslims themselves to come out of the quagmire and achieve their own

empowerment.

4 Anonymous, http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/May/27/status-of-muslims-in-india-32.asp, last accessed on 24-10-2013 at 08:26 IST

Problems of Muslim minorities:-It is not difficult to see why Muslims who live as a minority in non-Muslim countries

like India or Israel are seen by them as a problem. The reasons are relatively simple.

Wherever Muslims live as minorities they increasingly face problems of

discrimination. These are partly due to historical and political factors, partly due to

the media, which have confirmed for many that Muslims are violent, unreliable and

prone to anarchy. There is another reason. Most non-Muslim countries in which

Muslims live have an image of themselves as plural, tolerant, secular and modern

societies. Muslims somehow challenge this image. They provoke the worst aspects

of the state. In the main, instead of solving the problems of the Muslims in a manner

that would be mutually beneficial, the state tends to ignore or minimize them. In the

former state of Yugoslavia the Serbs went one step further with their Muslim

minority. They systematically killed them and drove them from their homes in Bosnia.

‘‘The world called it 'ethnic cleansing' and did nothing. Bosnia was added to the list of

recent Muslim losses. What offends Muslims living in a country as the minority

community? What is the Muslim 'problem'? There are two or three things that

Muslims are most sensitive about’’5. The most important is religion. Muslims would

like to be able to visit their mosques and say their prayers peacefully without

interruption, without being beaten up, without being picked up for interrogation. They

would also like privacy in their homes where they can lead their lives as Muslims.

They would like dignity and honour for their families - in particular, for the elderly, the

women and the children. They don't like police or paramilitary forces to burst into

their homes and humiliate their families. They would like some control over their

lives, some perpetuation of their own customs and values, the construction and

maintenance of mosques which are the focus of social and cultural life, the capacity

to read the Qur'an and the chance to live as Muslims and by Muslim traditions.

These include family laws, inheritance, religious holidays and religious festivals.

When these are threatened, Muslims are threatened; confusion and anger ensue. 

Indian Muslims are not granted the same

constitutional safeguards as the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes and they are

not entitled to reservations in employment or education. Although Hinduism is the

majority religion it is not an official or state-sponsored one; India is a secular state

5 Anonymous, http://muslimcanada.org/livingislam4.html, last accessed on 24-10-2013 at 09:09 IST

and there is complete religious freedom guaranteed. A Minorities Commission set up

after the election of a Janata government in 1977, monitors the position of non-

Scheduled Caste and non-Scheduled Tribe minorities, such as Muslims, although it

has no power to implement changes. Nor are Muslims entitled to reserved

constituencies in the central or state government assemblies although all, except the

explicitly communal parties, will have Muslim parliamentary representatives in their

group and governments try to ensure that there is at least one Muslim in the Cabinet.

There have been several Muslim Chief Ministers in various states. However the

number of Muslims in legislatures is less than their numbers would warrant. To date

there have been two Muslim Presidents of India, a highly visible post, although with

little real power.

Despite their large numbers, Muslims in fact do badly in some areas of employment

and administration. For example, at the beginning of the 1980s Muslims comprised

only 1.5% of the officers and 1% of the clerks of the central civil service, and 3% of

the elite Indian Administrative Service. Less than 2% of the army officer corps is

Muslim (although a Muslim has been appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the

Indian Air Force). This pattern extends beyond government however. A recent

survey of 800 senior positions in 86 major companies showed only five Muslims.

Some commentators have blamed the poor showing on traditional Muslim attitudes

to education and the emphasis on Urdu and religious education, rather than on

science or marketable skills. In any case the effect is reinforcing; Muslims are by

necessity employed or self-employed in small businesses, artisanship, fishing and

unskilled work and few are willing to try to break this circle if it exposes them to

further discrimination.

Another problem is language, especially in the north of India where most Muslim

communities speak Urdu, a Persian-derived language, using a Persian script but

which in its spoken form has similarities to Hindi (Hindi also has a considerable Urdu

influence). Once the language of the elite, Urdu is not a recognized official language

in India. This is, in part, not because of the numbers who speak it (which actually

totals more than many recognized languages) but because of its lack of a distinct

majority population in a specific area; apart from Kashmir, Muslims are everywhere a

minority.‘‘ Uttar Pradesh, the state with the largest population in India and where

approximately 15% of its 110 million people are Muslims — 17 million in all — did not

recognize Urdu as an official language. Muslims have campaigned for Urdu to

receive the status of an official language (alongside Hindi). When this was granted in

Uttar Pradesh in September 1989 there were clashes between Hindu and Muslim

students in which at least 23 died. Urdu has also received official language status in

Bihar.’’6

Government schemes for Muslim minorities:-

1. Scholarship – Government is doing his best to avail sufficient money to the

muslim minorities for education.

Pre Matric Scholarship

Post Matric Scholarship

Merit Cum Means Scholarship

These are tree types of education scholar ship which are being provided to

Muslim minorities. The State Govt. has till date completed the distribution process

of centrally funded scholarship grant for only two scholarship schemes, namely,

(1) Merit cum Means scholarship & (2) post-Matric scholarship (partially and not

satisfactorily) for the year 2007-08 amounting to Rs.5.87 crores only. The state

government has so far already received 29.97 crore from Central government. It

means the state government is only able to distribute less than 20% of available

fund. Thus defaulting for the session 2008-09 and 2009-10 besides default on

pre-Matric scholarship scheme for 2007-10 as well as default on completion of

renewal process. Moreover, the number of actual beneficiary shorts falls of the

targeted number under post-Matric scholarship.

6 Anonymous, http://www.faqs.org/minorities/South-Asia/Muslims-of-India.html, last accessed on 24-10-2013 at 09:18 IST

Field work and data analysis:-

Name- Md Moinuddin

Age- 51 yrs

Sex – Male

Marital status- Married

Educational Qualification- M.A(Geography)

Area of reference- Working as an assistant teacher in govt +2 school arwal

Area of residence- Vill+PO- Phulari

PS-Sandesh

Dist-Bhojpur (Arrah)

Questionnaire:-Q 1) What are the problems faced by Muslim minorities?Ans - According to me, the people belonging to this very minority is facing various

types of problems, like they are having lack of money or you may say that their

economic condition is not so good. Due to this very problem they are also lagging

behind in getting a better quality of education. They just do matriculation and they

start searching for the job, even they did not think for the higher education because

they having no sufficient money. The woman is also not allowed to do job means

women in Muslim are not self dependent. They do not come out of their home, if they

break this tradition which is still being practiced in many parts of our countries then

they can earn money and can help their families in economic way.

Q 2) What are views of the state and central government regarding problem of Muslim minorities?Ans - There are seven Minority Concentrated Districts in Bihar for which Multi-

sectoral Development Plan has been launched with 100% grant from the Centre. For

the current plan period, the Central Govt. has allocated 523 crore rupees to raise the

socio-economic conditions of these districts under eight broad indicators of

development to reach the national average. People of these districts, the civil society

and Muslim NGOs & organizations are unaware of any positive steps of the State

Govt. towards implementing the plan. Also the people belonging to these community

will have to more conscious about the government schemes are being avail to them.

Q 3) why peoples from this community are flying to gulf countries at very little amount of income for any job?Ans – because the qualification they possess they could not find any job in India so

that they can have their essential commodities also. But in gulf countries they get a

very good salary according to INR so that the fly to gulf countries for job at very little

salary also.

Q 4) Why are most of the Muslims fundamentalists and terrorist?Ans – This question is often hurled at the Muslims, either directly or indirectly, during

any discussion on religion or world affairs. In my view the media accompanied by

gross misinformation about Islam and Muslims. Fundamentalist are those who

Follow the adheres to the fundamentals of the doctrine or theory he is following. One

cannot paint all fundamentalists with the same brush. When we talk about the

terrorist then every Muslim should be a terrorist because the word terrorist means to

create terror and it helps when anti social elements are there. I mean to say every

Muslim should be a terrorist for anti social elements like thief. But a true Muslim

should only be a terrorist for selective people.

Q 5) What is the status of women in Islam?Ans - Woman is considered as a Home maker in Islam and not a housewife

because she is not married to a house. Woman in Islam is considered to be a home-

maker and not a housewife because she is not married to the house. v. In Islam,

when a woman is married to a man it is not that she is married to a master so that

she should be treated like a slave but she is married to her equal and should be

treated like a partner with love and dignity.

Q 6) Is there any restriction on education in Islam?

Ans – In holy Quran in a sura al alaq it is mention that o!prophet read in the name of

my lord who created man from a sensitive drop of blood. Read in the name of thy

lord who teaches man what he knows not. Read! And your lord is most beneficent &

merciful. This shows that there is very much importance of education in Islam so that

you can have ability of earning money for your essential commodities.

Conclusion:-

After reading various aspects of Muslim minorities in society the project will be

summed up. In summing up the project researcher through his project will analyse

that problems and suggestion for Muslim minorities.The governance of Muslim

minority affairs in Bihar needs special attention in view of rampant backwardness of

the community that constitutes 16.5% of the total population of the State, and also

the fact that over the years, the state budgetary allocation for the community has

been decreasing.

For Muslim religious and political elites and organizations to go beyond

simply identity-related or narrowly-defined religious demands or

demands that benefit only a small class to include the social, economic

and educational needs of the vast majority of the Muslims, who are

deprived according to every indicator. 

For a recognition by Muslim groups of the particular concerns and

problems of ‘internal minorities', such as ‘low' caste Muslims, women

and sectarian minorities. 

For expansion of the normatively-defined discourse in which Muslim

issues are often projected to include existing empirical social realities

of Muslims. 

For Muslim organizations to engage in systematic research,

documentation and publication on existing Muslim social realities. 

For Muslim groups to work with non-Muslim groups on issues

concerning not just Muslims alone but also other marginalized

communities and on issues of general concern. 

For a more effective media and lobbying policy on the part of Muslim

groups to have their views represented in the media and be recognized

and acted upon by political parties and the state.

Increase the number of scholarship as well as the quantum of amount

of scholarship for technical and professional courses.

Include useful heads of expenditure by adapting the heads shown in

SC/ST spending and from the schemes implemented for minorities

development in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Create some innovative heads of expenditure, like establishing

Interest-free Minority Cooperative Corporation for economic

development of the Muslim minority.

New privately managed Muslim minority schools upto 10+2 levels,

specially girls’ schools be allowed affiliation from BSEB with financial

support on salary head like given in Maharashtra and some other

States to encourage community initiative as suggested in the Sachar

Committee report.

Bibliography:-

Online websiteshttp://www.refworld.org/docid/49749d1141.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_India

http://religion.info/english/articles/article_612.shtml#.Uk3EZ3BcFvI

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3516200?

uid=3737496&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21102805574511

http://www.socialjusticeindia.org/minority_rights.htm

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC14Df04.html

http://religion.info/english/articles/article_612.shtml#.UmnSFhcmNa9

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/May/27/status-of-muslims-in-india-32.asp

http://indiaminorities.wordpress.com

http://www.milligazette.com/news/8983-puppet-indian-muslim-leaders-are-real-problem

http://twocircles.net/2009nov01/governance_muslim_minority_affairs_bihar_analysis.html

Offline booksA brief illustrated guide to understanding Islam, I A Ibrahim

ISLAM Represents terror or Ideal?, Swami lakshmishankaracharya

Coommon questions About islam, Dr Zakir Naik