Socio-economic status muslims in India: A critical review

Islam is India's second-most practiced religion after Hinduism, with more than 13.4% of the country's population (over 138 million as per 2001 census and 160.9 million per 2009 estimate) identifying themselves as Muslims. India's Muslim population is the world's third largest and the world's largest Muslim-minority population. Muslims being one of the greatest minorities of India are facing the bad impact of socio-political and economic issues due to some of the devastating customs and policies of Hinduism. All this has left the Muslims of India at the helm of affairs without any active leadership. This has multiplied their problems relating to status uniformity, poverty, credit flow, bank facilities and access to government jobs. Minorities of India are not enjoying the status as prescribed in the Constitution of India. "A process of marginalization of minority communities exists in almost all societies and there is nothing to warrant that the same is not true of Muslims in India to a greater or leaser degree… The popular public discourse… can lead to disastrous consequences."

Indian Muslims are suffering from discrimination and violence of ever increasing intensity and scale. Muslims of India had truncated status poor in education and they are lagging behind in socio-economic and political walk of society. Reasons of this is; they send their children to Madrissas, that have no contemporary syllabus, develop only theological and religious knowledge, without considering the development made in the modern world. Their approach is stagnant, traditional, without mobility. So, Indian Muslims lack economic opportunity. They have only choice in movie and music industry and the sports arena to flourish. Poverty and illiteracy among these groups were greatly responsible for a deplorable condition of education among them. Hence present study has thrown the light on the socio-economic status of Muslims in India and their problems.

The present study was based on the secondary data and secondary data was collected from books, journals, reports and internet. The objectives of present study are to assess the social, economic, political and educational status of Muslims in India and present problems of this community.