Institutionalizing Constitutional Rights

A fundamental shift in political discourse in India was achieved when 'The Social, Economic, and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India: A Report' was presented to the Government of India. Popularly known as the Sachar Committee Report, it brought to light the fact that Muslims were the most deprived and backward socio-religious community in India on almost all fronts of social and economic development. As a response to the report, a series of pro-poor and inclusive policies were initiated by the central and state governments, which were criticized for being less comprehensive and inclusive than those recommended by the committee.

This book is an attempt to assess and evaluate these 'post-Sachar' policies through a number of empirical analyses studying socio-economic aspects of development among socio-religious minorities, specifically Muslims. Bridging the gap in documentation, analysis, and publicizing of impact of post-Sachar policies and their associated national and state government programmes, this book identifies policies and institutions required for ensuring the constitutional right to equal opportunity of all Indian citizens, specially minorities. It also makes suggestions towards improving the process of inclusion of such minorities into the national mainstream.

Abusaleh Shariff is Executive Director at the US-India Policy Institute in Washington, DC, USA