A termination notice was instructed to be given to forty-three contractual employees. The Ministry of Minority Affairs also mandated the transfer of surplus funds to the Consolidated Fund of India. The Maulana Azad Education Foundation possessed assets valued at Rs 1073.26 crore as of November 30, 2023, alongside liabilities amounting to Rs 403.55 crore.

According to the directive, the assets are to be transferred to the Central Wakf Council, which will take on the administrative responsibility for the affected employees.

The closure of the foundation has hardly made news with only select independent media outlets covering the decision.

The MAEF was for the upliftment of minority community members. To be recipients of these schemes, one had to be of the six minority groups which are Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains. Founded with the mission of promoting education among the marginalised sections of society, the Maulana Azad Education Foundation was funded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the ministry took on the role of the ex-officio President of the Foundation. Since its official registration under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, on July 6, 1989, the Foundation has brought about various schemes for minorities.

The MAEF used to administer scholarships such as the Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship for minority girl students. This scholarship, for pre-matric and post-matric girl students was in 2023 subsumed under the Pradhan Mantri Education Empowerment Scheme (PMEES) as part of the Ministry of Minority Affairs in 2023.

Secondly, it started the Gharib Nawaz Employment Scheme for Minorities in the fiscal year 2017-18 to aid youth from minority communities through skill-based employment. The scheme sought to provide short-term job-oriented skill development courses to minorities as a way to increase employability by focusing on school dropouts and other minority youths.

In 2021, the then Minority Affairs Minister, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had told the parliament that 371 training centres were opened under Gharib Nawaz Employment Scheme across the country. The scheme, according to Naqvi, guaranteed 70 % employment, out of which 50 % would ensure placement in the organised sector. Naqvi mentioned that over 21.5 lakh minority youth had helped get skills and training from schemes by the government, including the Gharib Nawaz Employment Scheme, Seekho aur Kamao, Nai Manzil etc.

Not a sudden end to MAEF?

In the 2022-23 Union Budget, there was a staggering reduction of over 99 % in funds allocated to the Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF). In contrast to the previous year’s budget for 2021-2022, where MAEF received Rs 90 crore, the current budget allocates a mere 1 lakh (0.01 crore) to the foundation, the New Indian Express reported. According to the newspaper, the foundation refused to comment when the NIE reached out to them at the time. The website of the MAEF also remains to be updated. The foundation has a report by committee on its website that is a report on the condition of minorities from 2017. The Home page of the website says that it was last updated in October, 2023.

The data from the only evaluation report available on the website is from 2010, where the organisation states that around 12064 girl students were recipients of the scholarship schemes by the MAEF in 2008-09, and since its introduction in 2003 till 2009, the foundation had given scholarships to over 27,000 minority girls. The report also details that about 970 NGO’s in disadvantaged areas received aid from the foundation to give basic educational infrastructure and facilities in areas which have a concentration of educationally backward minorities.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs saw an increase in its allocation, with Rs 5,020.50 crore allotted in the 2022-23 budget, marking a rise of Rs 209.73 crore compared to the previous year’s revised allocation of Rs 4,346.45 crore. The Indian Express further reported that in the same year over a 1000 girl students who had applied for the Begum Hazrat Mahal Scholarship missed out on receiving their scholarships did not receive the scholarship because the ‘verification’ remained ‘pending’ by the nodal officers of their districts, which remained the status until the time of the scholarship lapsed in 2021-2022. This information was only released after a petitioner filed an RTI in Gujarat’s Jamnagar.

What could be the effect of the withdrawal of the provisions under MAEF?

In 2022, the union government cancelled two important scholarships granted to minority community members, which include the pre-matric scholarship and the Maulana Azad National Fellowship. The move left countless students unsupported and without a means for education. The cancellation of the pre-matric scholarship, which provided a meagre sum of support to minority students from classes 1 – 8, was justified by the ministry as a move that was to bring the Ministry of Minority Affairs on par with the Ministry of Social Justice, as other pre-matric scholarships were only for classes 9-10. Interestingly, the BJP government has a long history of opposing provisions for minorities. In 2008,when pre-matric scholarships were started, the Gujarat government, led by the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, had challenged it in court arguing that the centrally administered scholarship was a scheme based on religion and argued that the state should not be obligated by the Centre to enforce such a program, according to a report by The Wire. In 2017 During 2017-18, about 1,15,000 girls were given scholarship under the Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship Scheme that was started by MAEF.

Similarly, a recent report by The Mooknayak has stated that nearly 50% of the funds that slotted for minority educational programs have not been used. The report stated that activist MA Akram filed an enquiry under the Right to Information Act and discovered concerning data in the utilisation of funds designated for the fee reimbursement scheme where despite an allocation of Rs 305.8 crore for these specific purposes, a substantial sum of Rs 174.23 crore remained unutilized. Similarly, the Centre for Educational Development of Minorities, which is slated to provide coaching for competitive examinations, did not use more than half of its allocated funds.

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The UDISE+ an application by the Ministry of Education for gathering data from both schools across all education levels, from pre-primary to Class 12. This resource offers data on enrolment and dropout rates, teacher numbers, as well as infrastructure details such as toilets, buildings, and electricity in schools. The latest report for the years 2021-2023 has revealed troubling details regarding the presence and absence of Muslims in education.

In June, 2023, Sabrang India had analysed similar trends for the last few years, highlighting the declining figures of Muslim students in Higher Education in India, based on a then newly released data for the years 2019-2020 by the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE). The report detailed that although India saw an improvement in educational indices of Dalits, Adivasis, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), there was steady decline in the enrolment of Muslim students. Currently, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes constitute 14.7% and 5.6% of the total enrolment, respectively, while OBCs make up 37% of the student population. In stark contrast, Muslim students account for only 5.5% of the overall enrolment, with other minority communities comprising 2.3%.

Significant drop in enrolment to higher education

This time the latest report reveals a decline of more than 8.5% in the enrolment of Muslim students aged 18-23 years, in higher education. While the enrolment of Muslim students in higher education showed an increase from 17,39,218 in 2016-17 to 19,21,713 in 2020-21, a significant dip has been witnessed in the academic year 2020-21, with the enrolment declining to 19,21,713 from about 21,00,860 students in 2019-20, reflecting a decrease of total 1,79,147 students, according to the report.

Furthermore, from the figures below that feature in the report, we can understand that the enrolment percentage is highest at the primary level, from grades 1 to 5, with 15.6%, showing a substantial presence of Muslim minority students in the early stages of education. However, the data shows that as Muslims students move to the upper primary grades, there is a slight but continuing decline to 14.4%, which goes further and sees a deeper dip in secondary education, the pivotal grades 9-10, with a further decrease to 12.6%. This trend of declining Muslim students continues into higher secondary education, where the enrolment percentage drops sharply to 10.8%.

Data from across states reveals that Assam (29.52%) and West Bengal (23.22%) record high dropout rates among Muslim students, while Jammu and Kashmir records a 5.1% dropout rate, and Kerala records 11.91%.

Percent Share of Muslim Enrolment at Different Levels of Education 2012-13 to 2021-22

(Figure 1 Data from the report by Arun C. Mehta)

Furthermore, the report observed key trends across states and Union territories on the decline in enrolment percentages of Muslim students especially in grades 11 and 12.

Percentage of total enrolment of Muslims students in school education across India.

(Figure 2 (UDISE+ data)

Lowest 20 states and union territories with percentage of rate of enrolment from primary to secondary education.

Figure 3 (UDISE data)

The report further highlights the fact that all States and Union Territories show ta lower percentage of Muslim students enrolled in higher secondary education (Grades 11 and 12) as compared to other educational levels. This, according to the report, highlights the need for a targeted efforts to address this issue and ensure better opportunities for Muslim students in higher secondary education in particular. This pattern thus implies that while many Muslim children enrol in primary education, but not in secondary, thereby there is a certain level of dropouts and discontinuation by students in the higher levels.

Furthermore, a cursory look at the bottom 20 states and union territories shows us that states such as Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Goa and even Andhra Pradesh fall in the lower ranges of enrolment in higher education.

Even union territories, including the national capital, show dismal figures with Delhi at 15.4%, Chandigarh and Puducherry at 5.3% and 8%.

Below is the list of top 15 performing states. As we can see the list starts with Maharashtra, having a total percentage of 13% enrolment, against national enrolment rates, from primary to secondary education. Highest on these indices remain the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Lakshadweep Islands with 62 % and 97.9 % respectively.

Figure 4 (UDISE data)

Gendered rate of enrolment in Muslims 

According to the report, the proportion of Muslim girls’ enrolment to total enrolment has declined at the primary and upper primary levels from 60.64% to 52.02% and 24.92% to 26.31%, respectively, over the period from 2012-13 to 2021-22. However, interestingly, there is an upward trend at the secondary and higher secondary levels, which increased from about 9.93% to 13.27% and 4.51% to 8.40%, respectively. The report suggests that a similar trend is visible in boys’ enrolment rates. The report identifies retention of students in the education system as a key problem, and recommends, “Promoting retention and completion of each educational level is crucial to ensure a more efficient and inclusive education system. Next, we look at the Muslim enrolment by gender, presented in Tables 11 & 12.”

What are the factors that contribute to these declining figures?

As per the Sachar Committee’s findings, student enrolment in schools is influenced by factors that are not restricted to economic conditions, including overall security and societal harmony, local development and parental educational background. State-level disparities are evident in the availability of educational facilities in villages with a high Muslim population. For instance, West Bengal and Bihar each have about 1,000 such villages, while Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 1,943. In housing and hygiene, a smaller proportion of Muslim households live in sturdy houses, and approximately half lack access to toilets. Additionally, access to amenities like tap water, electricity, and safe drinking water is comparatively lower among Muslims, especially in villages with a high Muslim concentration, compared to the national average (SCR, 2006).

It is also not unimportant to factor in the systemic discrimination faced by the community that has deteriorated into outright public slurs and even hate speech and physical targeting. Apart from overall economic indicators, such prevalent conditions are not conducive for enrolment and engagement in education.

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“The enrollment of Muslim students dropped by 8 per cent from 2019-20 – that is, by 1,79,147 students.” – Christopher Jaffrelot, A. Kalaiyarasan

While the enrolment of Dalits, Adivasis, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) has increased, the decline in Muslim enrolment is particularly alarming. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes currently constitute 14.7% and 5.6% of the total enrolment, respectively, while OBCs make up 37% of the student population. In contrast, Muslim students account for only 5.5% of the overall enrolment, with other minority communities comprising 2.3%. It is worth noting that teachers from the Muslim minority group represent 5.6% of the total.

States such as Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bihar, and Karnataka significantly contribute to the decline in Muslim enrolment, with Uttar Pradesh alone accounting for a decrease by 16 per cent and Delhi showing a steep decline of almost 20 per cent. Importantly, the Muslim community is the only category to experience an absolute decline, while other communities have witnessed an overall increase in enrolment.

Figure 1.1                      Data source: AISHE-2020-2021

Figure.1.2                  Data source: AISHE-2020-2021

States which have witnessed a decline: AISHE 2020-2021. 

This decline in Muslim enrolment in higher education raises serious concerns about equal access to education and opportunities for the Muslim minority in India. It underscores the necessity for targeted efforts and policies to address this issue and ensure inclusive and equitable access to education for all communities.

The underrepresentation of Muslims in higher education is a cause for profound concern, considering their low enrolment rate of 4.6%, despite constituting approximately 15% of the population. This marginalisation is indicative of deep-rooted inequalities and challenges faced by the Muslim community. Historically, Muslims have consistently had lower enrolment rates compared to other social, religious, and caste groups, except for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

While Muslims previously had slightly higher enrolment rates than OBCs, the situation has worsened over time. Dalits surpassed Muslims in terms of educational representation in 2017-18, and in 2020-21, Adivasis also outperformed them. The report further highlights that among major states, Muslims outperform Dalits only in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Delhi, while Adivasis perform better than Muslims in states like Rajasthan, Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand.

The ban on wearing hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka sparked a contentious debate in 2021, raising concerns about discrimination and the violation of Muslim women’s rights. According to a report by PUCL-K, approximately 1,010 hijab-wearing girls dropped out of pre-university colleges in Karnataka due to the ban and other factors. The report criticised the sudden prohibition without proper protocols and consideration for the rights of Muslim women students. The timing of the ban during end-of-year examinations further exacerbated its impact.

In the context of affirmative action for Muslims, the Sachar Committee Report (SCR, 2006) identified three states in India that have implemented successful models. In Karnataka, non-Brahmin Hindu castes and non-Hindu minority communities, including Muslims, were declared backward classes. The Nagan Gowda Committee recommended categorising the backward classes into backward and more backward groups, resulting in a reservation magnitude of 68%. The Havanur Commission proposed a separate minority category with reservations not exceeding 6%. In Karnataka, Muslims with an income of less than Rs. 2 lakh were classified as “More Backwards” with a four per cent reservation. This approach led to increased Muslim representation in government services and professional courses such as Medicine, Dental, and Engineering.

Kerala’s positive discrimination policies too, have contributed to the growth in enrolment among Muslims, with the state having the highest percentage of Muslim youth (43%) attending higher education. The reservation system in Kerala allocates 40% for Backward Classes and 10% for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), with a separate quota of 12% for Muslims. These policies have played a crucial role in improving educational opportunities for Muslims, as evidenced by the high literacy rate of around 90% among Muslims in Kerala.

In Tamil Nadu, Muslims do not have separate reservation but are included in the backward categories. The state eliminated religious-based reservations, and nearly 95% of Muslims are part of the backward classes. It is worth noting that the current reservation percentage in Tamil Nadu exceeds the limit set by the Supreme Court, standing at 69%.

Bihar’s approach, known as the “Karpuri formula,” involved dividing the backward classes into Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and More Backward Classes (MBCs). Quotas were allocated for OBCs, MBCs, SCs, STs, women, and economically backward individuals.

Data Source: https://www.roundtableindia.co.in/general-elections-2019-a-short-comment-on-muslim-representation/

Share of higher and lower caste Muslims in Lok Sabha.

Pasmanda Muslims face socio-economic challenges on a scale worse than almost all other socio-religious categories. They experience economic disadvantages, limited educational opportunities, social discrimination, and political underrepresentation. Efforts should be directed towards improving education, economic empowerment, social inclusion, and political representation to uplift their conditions and promote equality.

The social disadvantages faced by Pasmanda Muslims, categorised by social scientists as Ajlafs, and Arzals, is of significant concern, according to the Sachar and Ranganath Mishra Committees. While some Muslim castes are recognised as OBCs, acquiring scheduled caste status would provide greater government support and legal protection for citizens who fall on the extreme end of the social hierarchy. Data on Dalits and other lower-caste Muslims is scant, but they constitute a significant portion of the Muslim population, according to Pasmanda leaders.

The Sachar Committee Report of 2006 shed light on the social, economic, and educational disparities faced by the Muslim community in India. It identified various obstacles and proposed recommendations to address these issues. The report specifically highlighted the inadequate provision of educational, medical, postal, telecommunication, and basic infrastructure facilities in areas with a high concentration of Muslims. Additionally, it revealed limited access to toilets and difficulties in accessing water for Muslim households compared to the general population. The report also highlighted lower workforce participation.

According to the findings of the Sachar Committee, the enrolment of students from various communities in schools is influenced not only by their household’s economic conditions but also by factors like local development, such as the presence of schools and infrastructure, and the educational background of parents.

There are noticeable disparities at the state level when it comes to the presence of educational facilities and infrastructure in villages with high concentration of Muslims. For instance, West Bengal and Bihar have approximately 1,000 villages each that lack these facilities, while Uttar Pradesh surpasses them with 1,943 such villages. When it comes to housing and hygiene, a smaller proportion of Muslim households live in sturdy houses compared to the overall population, and approximately half of Muslim households in India do not have access to toilets. Moreover, access to amenities like tap water, electricity, and safe drinking water is comparatively lower among Muslims, particularly in villages with a high concentration of Muslim residents, as compared to the national average. (SCR, 2006)

Despite the substantial evidence pointing to the significant deprivation faced by Muslims, Dalits, and Tribals in India, the current government has taken steps to curtail social welfare measures targeting these marginalised communities, particularly in the educational sector. The Union Budget of February 2023 reflects a 38 per cent reduction in funds allocated to minorities, with Muslims being the most educationally disadvantaged among the minority groups. One notable discontinuation is a scheme that provided a modest amount of Rs. 1,000 per year to primary school children from minority backgrounds with an income limit of Rs. 1 lakh per year. This scheme was discontinued for students in grades I to VIII, citing overlap with the Right to Education Act, which guarantees free education until the age of 14. However, this justification overlooks the minimal financial support the scholarship provided and its role in assisting economically disadvantaged students with expenses like textbooks, uniforms, and study materials. Moreover, the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for minority students pursuing PhD programs and the Padho Pardesh scheme, supporting minority students studying abroad through subsidised loans, were abolished. The Minister for Minority Affairs, Smriti Irani, has provided explanations for these discontinuations, but they fail to address the actual challenges faced by students. The underlying motive behind the elimination of these programs is not a mystery; the ruling BJP party has consistently criticised these schemes as “discriminatory” since their initiation under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government following the 2006 Sachar Committee report, which exposed the alarming educational disparities faced by Muslims.

It is worth noting that the Gujarat High Court intervened in 2013, compelling the Narendra Modi-led government in Gujarat to implement a prematric scholarship scheme for minorities after a public interest litigation (PIL) argued that the scheme violated the constitution by being based on religious grounds. This historical context sheds light on the challenges and controversies surrounding these welfare measures.

The Sachar Committee Report revealed that Muslims, especially women, face significant barriers to accessing government development programs, leading to discrimination and exclusion. They encounter difficulties in obtaining loans, housing assistance, and pensions, and often struggle to obtain caste certificates, hindering their eligibility for reservation policies. The challenges extend to acquiring ration cards, preventing them from accessing state services and educational benefits. The segregation of Muslim communities further exacerbates these issues, limiting their access to essential services and government institutions. Additionally, Muslim women face underrepresentation in decision-making roles and exclusion from minority welfare institutions, impeding their full participation in society and the opportunities provided by government initiatives.

The issues of declining Muslim enrolment in higher education, the ban on hijab in Karnataka, and the challenges faced by Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis require urgent attention and comprehensive policies to promote inclusive education, address socio-economic disparities, and ensure equal opportunities for all. Efforts should be made to provide targeted support to marginalised communities and remove barriers to their educational and professional advancement. Furthermore, promoting social inclusion, economic empowerment, and political representation are crucial steps toward achieving true equality and justice in Indian society.

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In general, Ashraf  Muslims evade ‘Caste debate within Muslim community’, for Caste has no theological recognition in Islam. Nonetheless, the Ashraf  having prefix’s like Syed, Khan, Pasha, Mirza, Sheikh, Siddiqui, Farooqui, in their name, argues for the idea of equality in Islam, and blame ‘diffusion of two cultural traditions’ for the formation of ‘social stratification among Muslim community’. These prefix subliminally define their social status. Contrary to their ‘condemnation’ for ‘Hindu caste like features’ in Muslim society, they trace their lineage from Central Asia and Arabian states. Just to mention, the word ‘Ashraf’ originated from the word ‘Sharif’ which means the noble; ‘Ashraf’ is an Arabic word.

In order to elaborate their argument, Ashraf argue that Biraadari (translated as Muslim caste) is not as rigid, and very much flexible in Muslim society, which is very much evident in cases of inter caste marriages. The question comes to my mind, is it enough to deny with the fact that Caste doesn’t exists in Muslim society.

The Caste question in Muslim society goes beyond the Arzal, Ajlaf, and Ashraf division; which further problematize it. The division on Sectarian line blurs the caste differences, and thus becomes critical for the entire debate.

The division further goes down to region, languages, sects, sub-sects, and other such affiliations. Unlike Caste, sects find theological basis in the four main school of thoughts in Islam i.e. Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbali, and Shafi’i. Which further gets divided into sub-sects.

In India, people generally follow Hanafi School, which has sub-sects like Deobandi, Barelvi, and Ahl I Hadith etc. This difference is such deep rooted that every sect has their own mosques, and avoid performing prayer in ‘others’. Hence notion of ‘purity’ and ‘impurity’ is applicable in these public spaces too. This difference dictates personal and public life, and sometimes leads to irreversible consequences.

Every sect group having their own interpretation of Islam, consider themselves as rightly guided ones, and all others as deviance. Moreover, they pass verdict who’s true believer and who’s not, and goes on witch-hunting for other’s in the name of Gustakh I rasool and Qabar parast.
Sadly, those who avoid caste debate fails to explain reason for the sectarian divide.

This brings us to the conclusion, that homogeneity of Muslim society is a utopian idea (especially in Indian context). The idea which is floated by the religious class (that is also belongs to Ashraf) to gain social and political mileage.

The same group see caste debate as a challenge to their hegemony, and thus argues that it will break the social fabric of Muslim society. Such naive they are!

I fail to understand how the Caste question, and more precisely political assertion by Pasmanda Muslims will lead to discord and disharmony. Actually Ashraf fears that acknowledging the caste debate will change the political equation (the communal-secular equation). For Ashraf(irrespective of their sects) constitute small percent in comparison to Pasmanda (Ajlaf/Arzal), and are still leading the community. Ultimately this will question Ashraf long held positions, and demand due political representation and social justice by Pasmanda. And it will turn the political stage upside down, which is not acceptable to self-proclaimed leaders of Muslim society. For them, marginalised Muslims are just a matter of table talk. Thus, Ashraf always see caste question as a threat to community’s harmony, and an attempt to defame Islam.

According to Asghar Ali Engineer, on the question of caste as anti/un-Islamic, they are mainly ‘upper’ caste Muslims spokesmen, who claimed that addressing the problems of the ‘low’ caste Muslim communities is an ‘anti-Islamic’ conspiracy to divide the Muslims since Islam has no room for caste. He argues that this denial of internal caste differences among Muslims as means to perpetuate the hegemony of ‘upper’ castes Muslim leaders and the ‘Ulema’ who present an image of Muslims as a seam-less monolith.

Ali Anwar, responding to the charge of dividing Muslims, points out that “far from doing so, we are trying to unite the dozens of Dalit/backward caste Muslim communities who have been kept divided for centuries! We are trying to bring them – Ansaris, Halalkhors, Kunjeras, Kalals, Dhuniyas, Mochis and who knows how many such castes – together on a common platform to voice their demands and concerns. Is this an attempt to divide or unite? You decide. The Pasmanda politics is not directed against Ashraf. Rather, we seek to strengthen and empower marginalised section of Muslim society, enable them to speak for themselves and to secure their rights and justice from the state. We welcome well-meaning people of Ashraf background as well as non-Muslims who are concerned about our (Pasmanda) plight and to join in our struggle.”

He goes on to argue that “so-called Ashraf have kept us divided for centuries by fanning sectarian (Maslaki) differences. Why don’t they put an end to this instead of telling us what to do? Ashrafhave created and magnified these sectarian divisions for their own interests, to run their own little religious and political shops, for which they have not stopped even at promoting bloodshed and hatred. First they should put an end to this sectarian hatred and division which they have created and then talk to us.”

This is a fact that Caste question among the Muslims is always seen through religious lens rather to see it as a sociological fact. Pasmanda constitutes 85% of total Muslim population needs to identify themselves as a distinct section within Muslim society who are highly marginalised. But the debate is always happening around the fundamental question of caste existence. We need go further to this, until then, the debate will not develop further, and the demand for redistribution and representation will not be listened.

P.S: The Muslim society needs do away with sectarian and caste differences, their prejudices and biases. The society needs to recognise the problems of their society, so that, together can fight against greater evils like illiteracy, poverty and backwardness etc.

Footnotes:
 

1. Ali, “Indian Muslim OBC: Backwardness and Demand for Reservation,” EPW, vol. 47, No. 36, 8 Sep 2012, pp. 74-79
2. Sikand, “Muslim Dalit and OBCs Conference: A Report”, Milli Gazette Online, 30 November 2005.
3. Sikand, “Voice of Oppressed: Empowering Dalit Muslims,” Communalism Combat, November 2005, Year 12, No. 12
4. Alam, “Democratisation of Indian Muslims: Some Reflections”,  Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 38, No. 46 (Nov. 15-21, 2003), pp. 4881-4885
5. Ali Engineer, “OBC Muslims and Their Problems”, the Hindu, September 12. 1996
6.  

Tausif Ahmad, PhD Scholar , IGNOU, New Delhi

Courtesy: Countercurrents.org
 

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