Mumbai, February 29 (newsin.asia): The Shiv-Sena led led coalition government in the Indian State of Maharashtra has decided to provide 5% reservation to Muslims in all educational institutes in the state.
Maharashtra is considered a Hindutwa State where the most prominent political groups are the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena (SS) both Hindutwa parties. Recently the Shiv Sena parted ways with the BJP and joined hands with the secular Congress and the National Congress Party.
It is significant that the announcement of reservation for Muslims in government schools should be made when anti-Muslim feelings are rising in North India including Delhi the national capital.
Announcing the Maharashtra government’s decision on Friday, Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik said, “We will ensure that the legislation to this effect is passed soon.”
The minister also assured the Maharashtra Legislative Council of taking “appropriate action” in this regard before beginning of admissions in schools.
Nawab Malik was responding to a question raised by Congress legislator Sharad Ranpise.
A study on college education of Muslims in Maharashtra and Gujarat reveals that the educational attainments of Muslims in Higher education are considerably lower than other social groups.
The Census 2011 presents data that shows the Muslims represent poorly when compared
to Scheduled castes and tribes in India. The major drop out of Muslims from educational institutions
take place after primary level, and only about 4.9% and 2.9% from Maharashtra and Gujarat have been
able to complete graduation.
Urdu remains major medium of education for Muslims. While examining
age-wise educational attainments one finds that younger age-group of Muslims has made considerable
progress towards higher education. However, in comparison to other socio-religious communities the
situation is still abysmal for Muslims.
As most of the Muslim students are educated in Urdu medium,
finding a suitable job for them is difficult except to look for teaching job in Urdu medium schools or
community oriented jobs where Urdu is used. There is also a lack of quality educational institutions in
Muslim concentrated