By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad: Contrary to the general belief, majority of Muslims in Andhra Pradesh, live in urban areas, but the policy makers didn’t take this very important aspect into account while formulating any policy for the minority community, said Abusaleh Shariff, Chief Economist at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
Shariff said that like wise, the per capita income of Muslims in Telengana region was less, relative better in Rayalseema region and higher in Coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh. Muslims are around 10 per cent of the total population of the state.
Dr. Abusaleh Shariff (extreme R) presenting his study
In the same manner, the literacy level of Muslim OBCs in urban areas in the state, has not increased at the matric level, as well as at the level of higher education, which is again, against the popular perception which held that level of literacy among Muslims in urban areas in general, has increased, Shariff further said.
Shariff, who was also the member secretary of the Sachar Committee, pointed out that, the reason for the comparative lower level of literacy in urban areas among Muslim OBCs, was the absence of schools in the pockets and clusters where they live.
Shariff, argued that these were the facts, which the policy makers of the state needed to target and take into account, while formulating any policy for affirmative action for the Muslim community. The research shows that most of the minority related schemes remain non-effective, precisely because the policy makers don’t target these socio-economic features and emerging patterns of the Muslim community, Shariff added.
Shariff made these points while presenting a report on the “Socio-Economic status of AP Muslims after Sachar Committee” to Chief Minister, K Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday, September 27. The programme was organized by the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
L-R: D. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi
Shariff said that Andhra Pradesh used to be a model state as far as the question of education and employment opportunities to the Muslim community in the government sector, were concerned. But at present the situation was that the situation has deteriorated during the last five years on the two indices. For instance the share of Muslim community in the government jobs has not grown during last five years and in fact, it has decreased.
The other disturbing situation prevailing in the community during the last five years, was the low level of employment rate of the community in urban areas. The percentage of Muslims from urban AP in the formal sector is just 4.2 percent where as in the public sector it is 6.1. The same numbers in private and informal sectors come to 14.5 and 14.9.
As the research done by Dr. Shariff showed, the same situation in rural areas of AP, is quite disturbing. Muslim constitute 4.5 percent of the formal sector, 5.9 percent of informal sector, 5.8 per cent of private sector and 5.1 per cent of public sector.
Another disturbing figure about the Muslim community was at the individual level of work status in the rural Andhra. Only miniscule 4.2 per cent of the community was salaried where as 9.7 per cent of the community was involved in the domestic chores and 8.4 per cent in the self-employed category in the rural AP.
A view of the audience at the Jubilee hall in Hyderabad
When it comes to urban areas of Andhra Pradesh, only 9.6 percent of the Muslim community is salaried, 16.4 per cent are in the category of domestic chores and finally 18.5 per cent of the community is self employed in the urban AP.
Shariff, an economist known for juggling with statistics and interpreting it for the larger policy frameworks and predicting their implication on the socio-economic future of the country, also made few vital suggestions to the CM Kiran Kumar Reddy, regarding the betterment of the minority community in the state.
Shariff highlighted the need for occupation based programmes to empower Muslim community because a large chunk of the community in involved in skilled works like that of zari, and others. He also requested the AP government to establish community based polytechnic institutes.
Establishment of Equal Opportunity Commission in the state was another very important suggestion by Dr. Shariff to the CM. He also talked about instituting awards for best university and best NGO for increasing diversity in its staff members.
Asaduddin Owaisi, MP from Hyderabad and the AIMIM chief requested the CM to empower the community on the lines suggested by Dr. Shariff.
“We don’t want you to provide us with fish. We want you to teach us how to catch fish,” said the outspoken MP to the CM.