ISAS Working Papers

The Sachar Commission Report of 2006 on Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India generated widespread awareness of the socioeconomic disparity and exclusion of religious minorities, especially Muslims, in India. The theoretical framework of the Report was predicated on Indian's constitutional promise of equality of opportunity for citizens of secular democracy. One of the biggest gains of the Sachar Commission was its reconstruction of the Muslim community as 'development subjects' in the state rather than primarily as a religious community. An important finding of the Sachar Commission was that there is a clear and significant inverse correlation between the proportion of the Muslim population and the availability of educational, communication, health and physical infrastructures in villages.