Muslims and Development Deficit Micro Realities in Uttar Pradesh

Muslims are the largest minority community of India. The nature and quantum of their development deficit is difficult to assess given the concealment of data across socio-religious communities. Even the government appointed committees failed to have access to comprehensive religion specific data. Furthermore the available details on selected indicators at macro level are not provided at micro level. It is important to raise a question why are community-wise complete data, not made available to public or researchers despite comprehensive recording and large scale computerization? What is the rationale of making religion-wise macro level data (on selected indicators) public and keeping micro level data secret? It is beyond imagination. Policies formulated at macro level on the basis of macro level data can only result in ineffective programme planning and implementation. Such policies and programmes bereft of the micro realities only end up with an addition in the list of minorities’ specific programmes, most of them are tokenism, of the government. This is the chimera of development in India. Richness of Indian diversity and rampant regional disparities accentuated across socio-religious communities demands micro level field surveys and bottom up policy prescriptions to demystify and address the shades of Muslims’ exclusion. Non-availability of actual facts and figures across religious categories has become the cause for mythical construction and fermenting pernicious and malicious propaganda against Muslims. This volume articulates that it is a democratic and constitutional necessity to collect, collate and make available the developmental data across socio-religious communities at all the levels. It would be a step towards assuring that the fundamental right to life and liberty can become a reality for the citizens individually and collectively i.e., the composite category of citizens as Muslims or Christians or OBCs or Dalits. The volume aims at exploring the marginalization of Muslims and how it is exacerbated with myths, rumours and constructions of the Other. Having fully conscious of the complexity and subterranean nature of Muslim marginalization we are conscious of not coming up with prophecies and magic solutions salvaging Muslims. It has focused on Muslims of Uttar Pradesh. Inferences are drawn from the survey of three districts namely Ghaziabad, Meerut and Etah.