Single biggest reason for the backwardness of Muslims in South Asia is reluctance to adopt modern education systems.
NEW DELHI: This is with reference to Avirook Sen’s article of September 22 titled “Quotas for Indian Muslims?”. The plight of India’s Muslims has been an open secret; they have been left stranded in the great Indian race for prosperity. The single biggest reason for the backwardness of Muslims in South Asia is reluctance to adopt modern education systems. Without that, it is difficult to get a decent job.
The so-called ‘backward Hindus’ who benefit from the quota system usually tend to study a modern curriculum although their skills may not be the all that good, especially if they happen to be from India’s rural areas. I am not prejudiced in the least and at the risk of sounding so I will say that madrassa-educated Muslims will find it difficult to get jobs be they in Karachi, Mumbai or Dhaka. South Asia’s Muslims need to free themselves from the shackles of self-serving and backward-looking clerics.
Sonam Shyam
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2011.
