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Lost in the Crowd
By A Staff Writer
New Delhi
A survey on the social and economic status of Muslims reveals that in rural areas, 60.2 per cent Muslims do not have any land, and only 2.1 per cent Muslim farmers have tractors.
Muslims figure low among beneficiaries of the official welfare and development schemes, have poor connectivity with the modern communication facility, do not have adequate access to their political representatives and are only nominally represented in the government and private sector jobs. These conclusions emerge from a survey conducted in six states by the Prime Minister’s High Power Committee to probe the social and economic status of Muslims. Though the Committee is yet to present its final report, excerpts of the survey have been released by the UNI Urdu service.
According to the survey, only 42.9 and 18 per cent Muslims in urban areas get their information from television and radio respectively. The figures in rural areas are put at 13.2 (TV) and 20 (radio) per cent respectively. As many as 50 per cent Muslims in rural areas and 36 per cent Muslims in urban areas receive their information from personal meetings with others, the survey added. Only 20 per cent Muslims in urban areas and 9 per cent in rural areas read newspapers.
The survey that covered Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi and Rajasthan, pointed out that only 5.1 per cent of Muslim families categorised under the ‘Below Poverty Line’ (BPL) receive free food grains in rural areas. Only 3.2 per cent Muslims receive subsidised loans and only 1.9 per cent Muslims benefit from Antyodaya scheme. Only 3 per cent Muslims avail of the subsidised power. Only 8.3 per cent Muslims benefit from Sanjay Gandhi Grammen Rozgar Yojana and 0.3 per cent become members of the group housing schemes.
Survey reveals that in rural areas, 60.2 per cent Muslims do not have any land and only 2.1 per cent Muslim farmers have tractors and only 1 per cent have hand pumps.
The Survey also discloses that 54.6 per cent Muslims in villages and 60 per cent Muslims in urban areas have never attended schools. Only 0.8 per cent Muslims in rural areas are graduates. Though in urban areas nearly 40 per cent Muslims are now receiving modern education, only 3.1 per cent of them are graduates and 1.2 per cent are post- graduates.
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