Introduction

Equal access to services provided by the state is a necessary condition of effective equal opportunity policies. Historically, excluded ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities have often complained of the colour-blind practice of states in the provision of collective goods which produces discriminatory outcomes. With the development of affirmative action policies in the West, the principle of proportionality in resource allocation became an essential requirement of non-discriminatory service delivery (Ball and Solomos 1990; Ben-Tovim 1986). In India, with its regime of ‘competing equalities’, this principle was conceded for SCs and STs but not for religious minorities. In seeking to correct this imbalance, the UPA introduced a multitude of programmes for religious minorities, with a range of affirmative action provisions, including the targeting and monitoring of service delivery to ensure better implementation. However, despite these initiatives, efforts to improve service delivery for religious minorities, notably Muslims, encountered institutional barriers that remain to be overcome.

Given the vast range of the subject matter, we only review the policy process in key areas of service delivery. Accordingly, this chapter focuses on education (specifically the provision of scholarships for minority students), better provision of finance and a concentrated drive to improve socioeconomic infrastructure in areas of Muslim concentration. These areas were selected because they provide a representative spectrum of the schemes under consideration: a recipient-led initiative (scholarships), a highly institutionalised and regulated sector drive (finance) and a broad area-based programme (MSDP). The different policy approaches reflect the constitutional and institutional constraints under which special programmes for religious minorities were developed. Finally, the chapter reflects on the policy process to assess modes of resistance to policy change.

Agenda-setting

Both the SCR and RMCR recognised the alienation of Muslims from, and their limited access to, state services. In education, the SCR found that limited availability of good government schools in Muslim localities resulted in pupils either attending private school or dropping out, particularly at primary, middle and higher secondary levels (SCR 2006: 60).1 The literacy rate among Muslims (59.1 per cent) was below the national average (65.1 per cent) (ibid.: 52; RMCR 2007 16). Contrary to the popular myth, only 3 per cent of Muslim children of school age attend madrasas (SCR 2006: 77).