It is also important to look deeply into what the report (at least on pp. 11-23) of the Sachhar Committee says about the problems of the Muslims. Some remarks of the Committee are displayed below on several issues related to communal considerations in identity, education, language, employment, health facilities, loans, basic amenities and political participation. The main purpose is to substantiate the argument mentioned above which constitute the basis of discrimination:

Apparently, the social, cultural and public interactive spaces in India can be very daunting for the Indian Muslims. The general sense of unease among Muslims can be seen on a number of fronts—in the relationships that exist between the Muslims and other Socio-Religious Communities as well as in the variations in understanding and interpreting them. One aspect of this understanding relates to patriotism. They carry a double burden of being labeled as “anti-national” and as being “appeased” at the same time. While Muslims need to prove on a daily basis that they are not “anti-national” and “terrorist”, it is not recognized that the alleged appeasement” has not resulted in the desired level of socio-economic development of the Community. In general, Muslims complained that they are constantly looked upon with a great degree of suspicion not only by certain sections of society but also by public institutions and governance structures. This has a depressing effect on their psyche. Many also felt that the media tends to perpetuate this stereotypical image of the Muslims.(page no. 11).

Being identified as a Muslim is considered to be problematic for many. Makers of Muslim identity—the burqa, the purdah, the beard and the topi … have been a cause of concern for them in public realm…. Muslim identity affects everyday living in a variety of ways that ranges from being unable to rent/buy a house to accessing good schools for their children. (p. 12).

Lack of a sense of security and a discriminatory attitude towards Muslims is felt widely…. The governmental inaction in bringing to book the perpetrators of communal violence has been a sore point. On the other hand, the police, along with the media, overplay the involvement of Muslims in violent activities and underplay the involvement of other groups or organizations. There is an underlying feeling of injustice in the context of compensation to riot victims. It was also suggested that the amount of compensation fixed by the government post riots has been discriminatory against the Muslims. Besides, there is also delay in giving compensation to the victims, especially when they happen to be Muslims. (p. 13).

… whenever, any incident occurs Muslim boys are picked up by the police and fake encounters are common. In fact, people argued that police presence in Muslim localities is more common than the presence of schools, industry, public hospitals and banks. Security personnel enter Muslim houses on the slightest pretext. The plight of Muslims in border areas is even worse as they are treated as ‘foreigners’ and are subjected to harassment by the police and administration …. Fearing for their security, Muslims are increasingly resorting to living in ghettos across the country. This is more pronounced in communally sensitive towns and cities …. It was suggested that Muslims living together in concentrated pockets has made them easy targets for neglect by municipal and governmental authorities. Water, sanitation, electricity, schools, public health facilities, banking facilities, anganwadis, ration shops, roads and transport facilities—are all in short supply in these areas. (p. 14).

The “communal” content of school textbooks, as well as, the school ethos has been a major cause for concern for Muslims in some states. This is disconcerting for the school going Muslim child who finds a complete absence of any representation of her Community in the school text. Moreover, many schools are culturally hostile and Muslim students experience an atmosphere of marginalization and discrimination. Subtle deterrents to school admissions have already been mentioned. A growing communal mindset among the large number of school teachers adds to the ‘hostile’ school atmosphere. The distrust levels can be gauged from the fact that people actually believe that schools in some states have been given instruction to not let Muslim students pass in examinations. It is also alleged that it is not easy for Muslims to get jobs as teachers. Besides, Muslim teachers are often treated badly. The transfer of Muslim teachers to schools at a great distance is not uncommon. Discriminatory stoppage of salaries of Muslim teachers has also been alleged. It has been reported that in some locations, Hindu parents refuse to let their children go to schools where there are Muslim teachers. (p. 16)

… (O)ften they (Madrasa) are looked upon with suspicion by the wider society, despite the fact that they are involved in providing religious education to the Muslim community. Labeling of Madrasas as a den of terrorists is extremely worrisome for the Muslim community. Even though there has been no evidence to suggest that Madrasas are producing terrorists they are constantly under scrutiny. (p. 17).

While Urdu was never exclusively a Muslim language, it is said to have suffered because of its identification with the Muslim community. The communal divide that emerged over the issue of Hindi and Urdu has been the major factor contributing to the decline of Urdu since Partition. Overnight the knowledge of Urdu has become more a liability than an asset…. Students of Urdu medium schools have to join regular schools without going through a pre-school education experience because of the lack of anganwadis using Urdu. This affects their preparedness for schooling…. Students completing primary education in the Urdu medium are faced with a problem in pursuing higher education as there are only a few secondary and higher secondary schools in the Urdu medium. (p. 18).

The resistance to recognize minority educational institutions has been a matter of serious concern with the Community in several states. This is also a clear violation of Article 30 of the Indian Constitution. Several people alleged that they face difficulties in setting up minority educational institutions. These difficulties include large amounts of (non-refundable) fees charged at the time of application which increases the financial burden enormously which the Community cannot afford. At times, recognition is given on a year to year basis Often it becomes difficult to get clearance for new courses. There were also cases where discrimination with respect to minority institutions was brought to the notice of the Committee. In the absence of minority institutions, some argued, the options available to the Muslim community to get educated reduce drastically. (p. 19).

Given the generally low access to schools in the vicinity, parents are left with the unaffordable options of private schooling or Madrasa education. (p. 20).

The lack of Muslims in public employment—in the bureaucracy, police and judiciary, and so on—has been a matter of great concern. Discriminatory practices, especially at the time of the interview, were cited as reasons for poor Muslims representation even at the Claass IV level or in Grade D employment where high educational qualifications are not required. The recommendation of the 15 point programme which made it mandatory for selection committees to have representation from the minority community have not been followed. Concerns about the poor representation of Muslims in the police force were repeatedly expressed in various meetings. Complaints regarding discriminatory procedures adopted for recruitment in the police force were voiced. In some states the qualifying test required a sound knowledge of local language and at time that of Hindu religion. This put Urdu speaking Muslims at a disadvantage. Repeated incidents of this kind have made Muslim youth diffident and they shy away from participating in competitive examinations for fear of being rejected. Because the political participation of Muslims also was limited there are very few to raise a voice in their favour. (pp.20-21).

Muslim presence in the private sector was found to be even more dismal. It was felt that the private sector needed to be sensitized to this issue so that it would include Muslims in their recruitment through positive discrimination and affirmative action. (p.21). There is active discrimination in giving Muslim women credit facilities. (p. 220.

Perceived discrimination by both public and private sector banks in providing bank credit is widespread and the issue was raised in most of the states. It was alleged in some states that many banks have designated Muslim concentration areas as ‘negative or red zones’ where they do not give loans. (p.22). Even nationalized banks it was said, hesitate to sanction loans under government sponsored schemes to Muslims. The government never assesses the functioning of these schemes with respect to the benefits that have flowed to Muslims and other minorities.

The absence of proper civic amenities and infrastructure facilities was another major complaint voiced by the Muslim community across the states. Poor roads and lack of proper transport, sanitation, water, electricity and public health facilities pervade Muslim concentration localities. These generally are said not to have aganwadis, ration shops and governmental schools. (p. 23).

Health services for women living in Muslim concentration areas are much worse than for women from other SRCs. Even primary health facilities are available only at long distances. Unacceptable behaviour that many Muslim women encounter at public health centres discourages them from going there…. Muslims, especially women, have virtually no access to government development schemes. They experience discrimination in gettings loans from the Jawahar Rojgar Yojana for Below Poverty Line beneficiaries, in getting loans for housing, in producing window pensions etc. Muslims are often not able to avail of the reservation benefits available to the OBCs as the officials do not issue the requisite caste certificates. It was also alleged that many eligible Muslim OBCs were not included in the official list which results in denial of several benefits to the Community. (p. 24).

In their view, political participation and representation in governance structures are essential to achieve equity. It was alleged by many that participation is denied to Muslims through a variety of mechanisms. Two specific instances were cited in this context: Non-Inclusion of Muslims in the Voter Lists: It was pointed out that many names of Muslims were missing in the voter lists of a number of states. Not only does this dis-empower them, it also makes them ineligible as beneficiaries of government schemes. Notification of Reserved Constituencies: Attention of the Committee was drawn to the issue of Muslim concentration assembly constituencies where only SC candidates can contest elections. By this move, it was argued that Muslims are being systematically denied political participation. (p. 25).

In most of the states, the proportion of Muslim concentration villages with such (medical) facilities, indicating a bias in public services provisioning in Muslim concentration areas. (p. 144).