Why are Muslims in India still poor and uneducated?

[Sher Khan]

It has been 70 years since partition. In recent times, their seems to have been an increase in anti Muslim sentiment in India and ordinary Muslims have been humiliated and beaten up publicly. But that is not the point of this thread, the point of this thread is to talk about why Muslim dominated areas are still among the poorest and with a lack of access to education.

Areas like Malegaon, Assam and many other cities where Muslims are in majority they are still neglected and impoverished areas. Why haven’t India being a “secular state”, done much to bridge differences and invest in this areas. Invest in development and education for these areas.

 

[Abdul]

Why are Muslims in Pakistan still poor and uneducated?

 

[Hitman]

It has been 70 years since partition. In recent times, their seems to have been an increase in anti Muslim sentiment in India and ordinary Muslims have been humiliated and beaten up publicly. But that is not the point of this thread, the point of this thread is to talk about why Muslim dominated areas are still among the poorest and with a lack of access to education.

Areas like Malegaon, Assam and many other cities where Muslims are in majority they are still neglected and impoverished areas. Why haven’t India being a “secular state”, done much to bridge differences and invest in this areas. Invest in development and education for these areas.

Who said so? BTW, Muslims are in majority in my state? Never knew it.

 

[Itachi]

It has been 70 years since partition. In recent times, their seems to have been an increase in anti Muslim sentiment in India and ordinary Muslims have been humiliated and beaten up publicly. But that is not the point of this thread, the point of this thread is to talk about why Muslim dominated areas are still among the poorest and with a lack of access to education.

Areas like Malegaon, Assam and many other cities where Muslims are in majority they are still neglected and impoverished areas. Why haven’t India being a “secular state”, done much to bridge differences and invest in this areas. Invest in development and education for these areas.

This is what happens when people make assumption without any background.

Bangladeshi illegal immigrants - poor and uneducated. But why we should take care of them?

Rest muslims (those came along with mughal invasions) are highly educated, blended in the society.

If you have such high interest, come and see it for yourself in assam.

 

[Zhasan]

That's what happens in a fascist apartheid state that's hell bent on undoing a millennium of perceived humiliation of being ruled and civilized by a small minority.

 

[CricketCartoons]

They lost most of their leaders and intelligentsia, and those who remained tried to use them as vote banks in return for patronage. The problems of the poor muslim is not the same as that of elite muslim, and the poor among them should align with other poor and backward communities. Islam might be the primary identity when it comes to their faith, but their political identity should not be muslim first, as they have more in common with the dalit or poor farmer, than the rich muslim who would still not dine and marry with them and feels more comfortable in the company of the rich hindu.

 

[IamIndian]

That's what happens in a fascist apartheid state that's hell bent on undoing a millennium of perceived humiliation of being ruled and civilized by a small minority.

Muslims never ruled India as a whole. The Muslims ruled in majority parts of North India but never continuously for 700 years. They ruled Delhi (inconsistently though) for some 600+ years but not Entire India. Remember Delhi wasn’t the capital city of then India. It was one of the least important places in Indian history and Indian geography at that time. Even under Akbar reign, he barely managed to rule 60–70% of India even after aligning with Rajputs and Marathas. [from quara answers]

 

[Itachi]

That's what happens in a fascist apartheid state that's hell bent on undoing a millennium of perceived humiliation of being ruled and civilized by a small minority.

Assam was hardly 40 years under Mughal empire. Rest throughout history, Mughal was defeated. So your theory doesn't apply here.

 

[PakLFC]

For the same reason that Muslim's in Pakistan are mostly uneducated. Generally Muslim's in the subcontinent do not give mainstream education as much priority as they do to Islamic studies and culture. You can't force anyone to learn if they don't want to. I am not blaming Hindu fundo's for this one at all when even before Modi their Muslim's were like this.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Many well off Muslim families in Tamil Nadu don't send their daughters to school beyond lower grade. Even boys study till 10th/12th and then join family business or some skill development course. The culture isn't yet there completely, I guess they are at the same point where Hindus were 20 years back. Also madrassah education doesn't help, it cannot prepare anyone for the real world in 21st century.

Christians are best in education matters, most qualified community and hence they are also very well off. Even Sikhs, Parsis and Jains are doing well, Muslims are behind the curve. But there are many examples of Muslim children topping exams, getting into prestigious colleges and landing top jobs, or IAS postings. The number of such success stories is increasing every year. I hope the mindset changes and we get more Abdul Kalams from the Muslim community.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

For the same reason that Muslim's in Pakistan are mostly uneducated. Generally Muslim's in the subcontinent do not give mainstream education as much priority as they do to Islamic studies and culture. You can't force anyone to learn if they don't want to. I am not blaming Hindu fundo's for this one at all when even before Modi their Muslim's were like this.

Why is one considered exclusive of the other? I am not saying it is wrong for what it is worth, just curious as to the thinking behind this.

 

[Swashbuckler]

For any society to progress education of the girl child is key. I don't have stats to back me up but I think Indian Muslims are worse in this regard compared to other communities, the literacy/education levels of Muslim females must be abysmal from what I gather from my surroundings. Christian girls are most educated and hence the community is doing exceedingly well. Similarly a Tamil Nadu girl will have better chance of getting education than a Rajasthani or Bihari girl, ecosystem plays a role. Government can provide resources and facilities, but ultimately it is up to people to change their mindset.

 

[troodon]

Rich and creamy layer Muslims moved to Pakistan. Only the poor lower caste Muslims were left behind. Most of them are tailors, weavers, poor farmers... etc. They are traditionally poor be it Hindus or Muslims or Christians.

Another thing is, many prefer sending their sons to Madrassahs and daughters are not sent to school or stop education by the time they finish 7th or 10th grade. Many get married in their teens and have kids early. That ends their career options.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Rich and creamy layer Muslims moved to Pakistan. Only the poor lower caste Muslims were left behind. Most of them are tailors, weavers, poor farmers... etc. They are traditionally poor be it Hindus or Muslims or Christians.

Another thing is, many prefer sending their sons to Madrassahs and daughters are not sent to school or stop education by the time they finish 7th or 10th grade. Many get married in their teens and have kids early. That ends their career options.

In Pakistan those who send their kids to madrassas are the ones who can't afford to pay for high class education, usually missionary schools run by Christians. In India they probably have even less options.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Rich and creamy layer Muslims moved to Pakistan. Only the poor lower caste Muslims were left behind. Most of them are tailors, weavers, poor farmers... etc. They are traditionally poor be it Hindus or Muslims or Christians.

Another thing is, many prefer sending their sons to Madrassahs and daughters are not sent to school or stop education by the time they finish 7th or 10th grade. Many get married in their teens and have kids early. That ends their career options.

It is only in recent times that madarsa has got the negative image for imparting outdated education, but if you read old literature, it was normal for rich and poor kids alike to receive education in madarsa, irrespective of religion, especially in norther india. Just pick any story with a child character written by Premchand.

 

[CricketCartoons]

For any society to progress education of the girl child is key. I don't have stats to back me up but I think Indian Muslims are worse in this regard compared to other communities, the literacy/education levels of Muslim females must be abysmal from what I gather from my surroundings. Christian girls are most educated and hence the community is doing exceedingly well. Similarly a Tamil Nadu girl will have better chance of getting education than a Rajasthani or Bihari girl, ecosystem plays a role. Government can provide resources and facilities, but ultimately it is up to people to change their mindset.

Please provide stats to back this.

 

[PakLFC]

Why is one considered exclusive of the other? I am not saying it is wrong for what it is worth, just curious as to the thinking behind this.

I don't know what you mean by "exclusive from one another?"

 

[troodon]

It is only in recent times that madarsa has got the negative image for imparting outdated education, but if you read old literature, it was normal for rich and poor kids alike to receive education in madarsa, irrespective of religion, especially in norther india. Just pick any story with a child character written by Premchand.

Brahmin folk who send their kids to study vedas and religious literature and ignore modern schooling are also very poor. Many end up being priests in temples or Astrologers or Marriage Pandits etc. They are all poor or lower middle class.

Religious education can be a side thing and should not be the main course of education. It only leads to poverty.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I don't know what you mean by "exclusive from one another?"

I mean why can't you do both? Even in the UK we had mainstream education but had to fit in learning the Quran after hours. Not ideal if you are a kid to be honest, but usually you are done with that by the time you reach secondary school age 10-11 so you can devote more time to career oriented studies.

 

[Pakistanian]

Why are Muslims in Pakistan still poor and uneducated?

Muslims are almost the absolute majority in Pakistan so the poor will obviously be mostly muslim but there isn't any institutional discrimination against muslims in Pakistan unlike in India, also the poverty rate among muslims in india is much higher than Pakistan's overall poverty rate.

 

[Pakistanian]

Here's a good explanation

https://southasiablog.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/how-did-partition-affect-north-india/

 

[PakLFC]

I mean why can't you do both? Even in the UK we had mainstream education but had to fit in learning the Quran after hours. Not ideal if you are a kid to be honest, but usually you are done with that by the time you reach secondary school age 10-11 so you can devote more time to career oriented studies.

That is the problem. They don't understand the value of mainstream education and what it practically means. The general belief is that they'll be neglecting their religious duties by wanting a professional career. In the west this attitude was prevalent as well some generations back. What is amusing is how most of these Muslim's who read the Qur'an don't understand even one verse off it, it's just lip service.

 

[Hornbill]

Muslims are almost the absolute majority in Pakistan so the poor will obviously be mostly muslim but there isn't any institutional discrimination against muslims in Pakistan unlike in India, also the poverty rate among muslims in india is much higher than Pakistan's overall poverty rate.

Stop spreading misinformation there isn't any kind of institutional discrimination against any religious group in India. The only reason why hindus are doing little bit better than muslims because majority of them are eligible for reservation due to the existence of very old discriminatory caste system in hinduism.

 

[Pakistanian]

Stop spreading misinformation there isn't any kind of institutional discrimination against any religious group in India. The only reason why hindus are doing little bit better than muslims because majority of them are eligible for reservation due to the existence of very old discriminatory caste system in hinduism.

You just gave an example of systemic discrimination. Also I've spoke to many Indian muslims here in America and they tell me that there's widespred discrimination in India towards muslims in the job market and even in housing and education. I'll take their word over yours.

 

[Waseem]

For the same reason that Muslim's in Pakistan are mostly uneducated. Generally Muslim's in the subcontinent do not give mainstream education as much priority as they do to Islamic studies and culture. You can't force anyone to learn if they don't want to. I am not blaming Hindu fundo's for this one at all when even before Modi their Muslim's were like this.

I agree with this, Muslims in comparison didn't take education as seriously as Hindus or others even before independence so this has nothing to do with Indians trying to keep Muslims uneducated. Not that Muslims don't value the education but they strongly believe that religion is far more important than anything else so education is not as big a priority as religion.
Things will improve slowly (India and Pakistan) as new generations are giving far more importance to education than previous ones but another issue which will take far more time is female education. Although majority of females go to school but most don't go on to get high education and even the ones who do hardly ever work (mostly because parents want them married off soon).

In short, this has nothing to do with Indians but attitude of Muslims towards education.

 

[Sher Khan]

Please provide stats to back this.

Come on man, it is common knowledge. Everyone knows this.

 

[Itachi]

Here's a good explanation

https://southasiablog.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/how-did-partition-affect-north-india/

OP is asking about north east india in specific. North eastern part of india has very different culture, social construction than north india.

 

[Zhasan]

I agree with this, Muslims in comparison didn't take education as seriously as Hindus or others even before independence so this has nothing to do with Indians trying to keep Muslims uneducated. Not that Muslims don't value the education but they strongly believe that religion is far more important than anything else so education is not as big a priority as religion.
Things will improve slowly (India and Pakistan) as new generations are giving far more importance to education than previous ones but another issue which will take far more time is female education. Although majority of females go to school but most don't go on to get high education and even the ones who do hardly ever work (mostly because parents want them married off soon).

In short, this has nothing to do with Indians but attitude of Muslims towards education.

That argument is fallacious since Indian Muslims' socioeconomic status shortly after independence was a a lot better than it is now. It has continued to decline due to both systematic and localized discrimination. When bollywood Muslim elite struggle to find housing in Mumbai, there is definitely something off, to pretend otherwise is to perpetuate the hindu fascism that has taken over India in the last few decades...

 

[mustang]

That argument is fallacious since Indian Muslims' socioeconomic status shortly after independence was a a lot better than it is now. It has continued to decline due to both systematic and localized discrimination. When bollywood Muslim elite struggle to find housing in Mumbai, there is definitely something off, to pretend otherwise is to perpetuate the hindu fascism that has taken over India in the last few decades...

I think there is some merit to points made by [MENTION=135]Waseem[/MENTION].

This link - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...iterates-Census-data/articleshow/53942863.cms -- shows the discrepancy in literacy levels, and illiteracy rates among all religious groups in India (cursory Google search). As you can see muslim communities are behind in terms of literacy and education which does contribute to their (lack of) advancement.

I'm not denying any right wing Hindu discrimination here but saying that is the sole cause is myopic/convenient. Many factors contribute to a community's falling behind and literacy+education is a major variable in the equation.

If discrimination by Hindus is the primary reason then how do you describe higher progress of Christian communities in India relative to the muslim communities? - I would argue even relative to the Hindu communities as well.

 

[Waseem]

That argument is fallacious since Indian Muslims' socioeconomic status shortly after independence was a a lot better than it is now. It has continued to decline due to both systematic and localized discrimination. When bollywood Muslim elite struggle to find housing in Mumbai, there is definitely something off, to pretend otherwise is to perpetuate the hindu fascism that has taken over India in the last few decades...

That is a completely different discussion my friend, we are mainly talking about education here which also results in poverty.

As for discrimination and housing, there is absolutely no doubt about it and this has been discussed multiple times. This was common problem long before this RSS fanatic Modi took over, things have gone lot worse since then.
I have very close Indian Muslim friends and most of them are patriotic, in fact at times they show extreme unnecessary hatred for Pakistan just to prove loyalty towards India. I have heard countless stories about extreme discrimination in India, finding house for rent is hard enough job but for them it can be a nightmare.

Despite all that, Muslims themselves are to be blamed for education levels (Discrimination is smaller part of bigger issue).

 

[Itachi]

That argument is fallacious since Indian Muslims' socioeconomic status shortly after independence was a a lot better than it is now. It has continued to decline due to both systematic and localized discrimination. When bollywood Muslim elite struggle to find housing in Mumbai, there is definitely something off, to pretend otherwise is to perpetuate the hindu fascism that has taken over India in the last few decades...

The subject here is education. There are no discrimination in enrolling a student.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Perhaps this has something to do with it too - they are pitifully underrepresented in the political sphere.

India election 2019: The mystery of India's 'missing' Muslim politicians

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-47315852

 

[rahulrulezz]

Why are Muslims poorer per capita in UK compared to Hindus and Christians

Why are muslims poorer per capita in Canada compared to Hindus and Christians.

There is not just in India. It’s a world wide thing. Muslims give more preference to their religion than education.