Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaften und öffentliche Angelegenheiten
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Social Inequalities among Muslims in India: A Sociological Study on Inter-Religious Perspective

Istikhar Ali

Human society is not homogeneous but socially heterogeneous since time immemorial. People are intentionally treated unequally while talking of status, power, and income. These inequalities are clearer through a good understanding of the Muslims community, reflecting inequality in their well-being. In the recent development phase, Muslims are grappling with the fundamental right of attaining education, employment, and health due to their identity. Several national reports enumerated that Muslims lagged behind other religious groups while being similar to SCs/STs in most significant indicators of human development across India. However, the studies have elaborated social histories of religion and culture but speak very little about their association and influence over their well-being. This paper is based on an analysis of national datasets, scholarly articles, and reports in relevance. The paper aims to delineate social inequalities among Muslims concerning their social identities, delineating the perception of different religious groups in India. This paper portrays a picture depicting Muslims' condition as poorer in socioeconomic terms and deteriorating out of their social identities. Muslims are struggling behind other religious groups across India. Muslim's conditions are better in south India than in north India, but worse relative to other religious communities. Muslims remain socioeconomically backwards when modernization is the order of the day. To conclude, this paper documented the existing literature on Muslims' social, economic and political lives, and case studies, comprehending altogether that these 'social identities' live in unjust unequal well-being. Therefore, it is paramount to delineate of inter-religious perspective to understand social inequalities in India.