Improvement in public health and education system can benefit Indian Muslims…
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By Humaira Jawed, Edited By Adam Rizvi, The India Observer, TIO: Kolkata: Improvement in Government Schools and hospitals can benefit
Muslims, suggested Professor Abdul Matin of the Jadavpur University
Kolkata.
He was speaking at the launch of the book; Indian Muslims’ Tryst with
Democracy: Challenges and Opportunities, authored by Dr Syed Ali
Mujtaba, at ICCR Library, on August 8, 2025.
Professor Matin drew attention to how micro-level changes that could uplift Muslims and other marginalized groups. “It is often said that Muslims are lagging behind in education. And it should improve. But how will it be improved? When Muslims are earning 8 to 10 thousand a month, how will they send their sons and daughters to private schools? They will go to government schools and these have deteriorated so much that, after studying there, the community’s children will not rise,”he said.
Matin added that the problem is not confined to rural areas of West
Bengal but also exists in major Muslim areas of Kolkata like; Metiabruz,
Khidirpur, Topsia, Park Circus, and Raja Bazar etc.
“Kolkata Municipal Corporation used to run schools, which no longer
function,” he noted.
The public education system in Bengal, he said, has not been
strengthened, affecting all low-income groups, with Muslims among the
worst hit.
Political interference, past and present, compounds the problem: “If
you are not part of this or that political party, it will…” he left the
sentence hanging, implying systemic bias.
Healthcare, he added, is equally grim. “People from rural Bengal travel
from far away and queue from midnight to see a doctor or get
admitted. We should stress on local mohalla schools and clinics,” he
suggested.
Former Rajya Sabha member and bureaucrat Jawhar Sircar stressed
that education, not religious symbolism was the path to advancement
for Muslims.
“Muslims must not be allowed to be used as vote banks and must
boldly join the democratic, secular forces fighting to restore the plural
India vision where we are born,” Sircar said.
He also urged patience over the caste census. “Caste Census can be a
game changer for Muslims too, so wait for 2026 and let the Census
report get released,” he advised.
Saira Shah Halim, considered a moderate voice in political circles —
spoke at length about the challenges Muslims face not only in Bengal,
but across India.
There is apartheid going on in India’s own national capital Delhi and in
West Bengal’s capital Kolkata, claimed activist and CPM leader.
Saira Shah took a firm stand on discrimination in housing. People say
Muslims are getting ghettoized, but do Muslims have a choice?
“Muslims are almost 30 percent in West Bengal, but do we ever think
that our representing MPs who may not be Muslim but secular are
remaining absent when the Anti-CAA Bill was debated, when Article
370 was revoked?” she asked, hinting at TMC MPs who skipped key
sessions on Muslim concerns.
Prof Maidul Islam of CSSSC (Centre for Studies in Social Sciences,
Calcutta) noted that Muslims are democratically conscious but face
systemic barriers. He pointed to a sharp decline of Muslim
representation in Lok Sabha that started from 1980 and in Bengal
assembly from 2011, saying political parties deliberately exclude them
from candidacy, a practice Ambedkar had warned about. He also linked
the lack of progressive leadership to the community’s woes.
“The book “Indian Muslims’ Tryst with Democracy: Challenges and
Opportunities” is a significant contribution to understanding the
complex socio-political landscape of Indian Muslims,” said the author
Dr Syed Ali Mujtaba.
“This book is a guideline of actions that the community may follow for
their progress and betterment in India,” he said and added, “it is a
must-buy for all those who want to know the problems faced by the
Muslim community and what could be their plausible solutions.”
Curated by Humra Kidwai
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