New Delhi, August 31
The Manmohan Singh government today said guidelines had been issued to improve their share in government jobs and in principle agreed to set up an “equal opportunities commission” to look into grievances regarding discrimination against them.

The follow-up action on the Sachar Committee report announced in Parliament today, however, remained silent on the committee recommendation favouring reservation for the most backward in the 150-million-strong community.

Tabling the statement in the Lok Sabha, minority affairs minister A.R. Antulay hailed the move saying “it is a historic occasion and it is a historic statement”.

In a 15-point action plan on the report of the committee headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar that went into the social, economic and educational status of the Muslims, Antulay said guidelines had been issued to improve the representation of minorities in government, public sector enterprises, public sector banks, etc.

The government intends to initiate special coaching and scholarship schemes for minority students. The Centre also wants to identify Muslim-dominated districts for running special schemes.

The outreach of upper primary schools will be expanded, particularly for Muslim girls, and where necessary, with “girls only” schools. The minister said more Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas would be opened in areas with substantial Muslim population.

Antulay added that priority would be given to the opening of secondary and senior secondary schools in areas of Muslim concentration and a special literacy drive would be taken up in similar districts.

Under the recommendations in the report, an equal opportunities commission will be set up along with a nomination procedure for their political involvement at the grass roots.

The government also intends to set aside a portion of priority sector loans, especially in agriculture and industry, for minorities.

Public sector banks will open more branches in Muslim concentrated areas and 15 per cent of the priority sector lendings will go to Muslims in the next three years.

It will try improving basic amenities in 90 identified minority concentrated districts and 338 towns.

Antulay said a comprehensive amendment to the Wakf Act is proposed to address existing deficiencies at the earliest. A suitable agency will soon assist in the development of Wakf properties so that the augmented income could be utilised for the purposes intended, he said.

The Sachar Committee, constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in March, 2005, had made comprehensive recommendations for “setting the community on the road to progress”.

It pointed out that the percentage of Muslims in government employment was a mere 4.9 per cent of the total 88,44,669 employees, indicating that all was not well for the 150 million Muslim population in the country.