2001 Census figures a blow to quota-for-Muslims lobby?

TNN / Dec 29, 2006, 00:42 IST

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Census 2001 figures reveal that both male and female members of the Muslim community are doing better than their Hindu counterparts in seven states.

2001 Census figures a blow to quota-for-Muslims lobby?

NEW DELHI: Census 2001 figures reveal that both male and female members of the Muslim community are doing better than their Hindu counterparts in seven states.
The findings have been highlighted in a book written by a former JNU demographer, Prof Mahendra Premi, 'Population of India in New Millennium: Census 2001', and run counter to the impression created by the Sachar Committee report on the socio-economic conditions of Muslims, which concluded that Muslims were severely disadvantaged with regard to literacy levels all over the country.
The Census figures can be cited to reinforce opposition to the current clamour for Muslim quota in jobs and services. In Andhra Pradesh, Hindu males and females have a literacy rate of 69.5% and 49.2% while Muslim male and female rates are 76.5% and 59.1%.
In Gujarat, the comparison shows that while Hindu males have a literacy rate of 79.1%, for Muslim males it is 84.1%. For women, the percentages are 56.7% for Hindu females and 71.2% for Muslims.

In Madhya Pradesh, Muslim males have a narrow lead, but are clearly ahead of Hindu males, with the literacy rates at 79.8% and 75.5% respectively. For Muslim females, the figure is 60.1%.
In the case of Hindu females it is 49%, a rather significant difference between the two communities. In Chhattisgarh, Muslim males have a high literacy rate of 90.5%, while for Muslim females it is 74%.
In comparison, Hindu males have a literacy rate of 76.8% and Hindu females 50.8%. While Chhattisgarh does not have a very high Muslim population, the leads are telling.

In Karnataka, Muslim males have a literacy rate of 76.9%, narrowly ahead of Hindu males at 75.6%. For Muslim females, the percentage is 63%, well ahead of 55.3% for Hindu females. In Orissa, Muslim males have a literacy rate of 79.8% and Muslim females 62.3%, while the figure for Hindu males is 76.5% and 50.6% for Hindu females.
In Tamil Nadu, Hindu males clock a literacy rate of 81.4% and Hindu females 62.4%. The literacy figures for Muslim males and females are 89.7% and 76.2% respectively.
The statistics laid out by the Census may have a bearing on the political debate surrounding the Sachar Committee report, recently submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which is being cited in support of demands for quotas in jobs for Muslims.
The government itself has been silent on the quota demand, but has spoken of special initiatives.Even in Kerala, with the highest literacy rate in the country, there is very little to separate Muslim and Hindu males, with the literacy figures at 93.7% and 93.8% respectively for the two communities.
For Muslim females it is 85.5% and for Hindu females, 86.7%. The overall literacy rate for Muslim males is 67.6% while for Hindu males it is 76.2%.

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