Data belies Modi's claims about Muslim marginality

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: “People who practise vote bank politics have made life very difficult for our Pasmanda Muslim brothers and sisters. They have been ruined and haven’t gotten any benefit out of it. They live a life of hardships and no one is ready to listen to them. A section from within the community has exploited the Pasmanda Muslims but there is no discussion on this,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told BJP workers during a party programme in Bhopal last week.

It was not lost on observers that Assembly elections for Madhya Pradesh are due in November this year. When the same disadvantaged section of Muslims get lynched and massacred, Modi doesn’t bat an eye but come election season the PM steps up his (rhetorical) outreach toward Pasmandas, which is Persian for those left behind.

Even if we were to overlook this hypocrisy, Modi is wrong about the extent of inequality among Muslims.

Data gathered from the All India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) shows that inequality among Muslims is on par with Hindus. The same data proves that Muslims are the poorest religious group in India.

What’s more is that Muslims who are not categorized as Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) or non-Pasmanda Muslims are poorer than OBC Hindus.

If the PM was sincere, then he would address this marginalization rather than make “a section of Muslims” out to be the villains who are oppressing the rest of the community.

Poorest religious group

 Data extracted from AIDIS and PLFS shows that Muslims had a paltry average MPCE of Rs 2,170 between July and June 2022, the lowest of all religious groups.

In comparison, Hindus spent Rs2,470, Christians shelled down Rs3,194, Sikhs expended Rs3,620 while others, inclusive of Parsis, Jews and religious groups who make up less than one per cent, managed an amount of Rs2,746 for the same period.

The average worth of household assets owned as of June 2018 tells a similar story. Muslims owned assets worth Rs15,57,638, the lowest of any religious group. Meanwhile, Hindus managed properties worth Rs 19,64,149, Christians owned Rs 21,89,160, Sikhs were at Rs 47,77,457 and others registered Rs 22,95,579.

Hindu OBCs richer than minority community UCs

Even non-Pasmanda Muslims had an MPCE and assets worth lower than OBC Hindus during July 2021 to June 2022 period.

Muslim SCs, STs and OBCs had an MPCE of Rs2,164 against the community average of Rs2,170. Meanwhile, non-Pasmanda Muslims registered an MPCE of Rs2,180.

In contrast, the monthly expenditure of Hindu OBCs was Rs2,393 compared to the community average of Rs 2,470 while upper caste Hindus expended Rs 3,321.

Moreover, Hindu SCs and STs performed much poorly at Rs 2,095 and Rs 1,789 respectively.

A similar trend is observed in ownership of assets as of June 2018. Muslim SCs, STs and OBCs owned Rs 15,53,310 while non-Pasmanda Muslims owned properties worth Rs 15,63,953 against the community average of Rs 15,57,638.

In comparison, Hindu OBCs outstripped upper caste Muslims with assets worth Rs 18,41,853 while upper caste Hindus performed significantly better at Rs34,39,243 with the community average at Rs 19,64,149. Hindu SCs and STs lagged well behind at Rs 9,95,923 and Rs 8,74,427 respectively.

Access to education limited

The data also shows how Muslims are poorly represented in government, public sector and private enterprises due to fewer graduates and post-graduates among them.

The percentage of Muslims in the workforce who are graduates or better is eight per cent. The figure for upper-caste Muslims is 8.4 per cent and for Muslim SCs, STs and OBCs, it is 7.8 per cent. Hindus on the whole do much better with 14.9 per cent of the community in the workforce being graduates or more.

The figure for upper-caste Hindus is a relatively impressive 28.1 per cent. The same for Hindu OBCs was 13.9 per cent while Hindu SCs and STs languished at 9.1 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.