Educational Marginalization of Muslim In A Metropolitan: A Sociological Study of Jamia Nagar Government Schools, New Delhi

Various studies conducted during the past few decade amply show that Muslims have been increasingly, socially and economically, marginalized although there has admittedly been some progress in some small pockets. This limited progress however has been largely independent of state efforts. For its part, the state appears to have deliberately or otherwise played a somewhat indifferent role and in some states, clearly hostile attitude towards social, economic and educational advancement of Muslims. The percentage of Muslims in regular employment, in both the public as well as the private sector, has considerably dropped over the decades since 1947. Today the situation is more serious as a result of the impact of globalization and neo-liberal economic policies; landless laborers and artisans, a large proportion of whom are Muslims,are the the worst sufferers. According to official estimates, Muslims account for roughly 14 % (174 million) of the Indian population (Census, 2001). Obviously, the economic and educational marginalization of such a large section of Indian society should be a matter of concern for all. In March 2005 the prime minister of India appointed a high level committee headed by retired Justice Rajinder Sachar to report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslims of India. It is hoped that the report will, if nothing else, sensitize policy makers to the urgent need to address Muslim concerns. The Sachar committee examined questions such as- in which state / regions, districts and blocks of the country do Muslims mostly live? What is the geographical pattern of their economic activity? What are their asset base and income levels relative to others across various states and Azra Abidi, is assistant professor and Shariq Abbas is a research scholar in Department O