• ISBN13: 9780199461158
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: Politics and Current Affairs
• Publisher: Oxford UP
• Publisher Imprint: Oxford UP
• Publication Date: September 12, 2016
• Pages: 540
• Original Price: INR 1195.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 700 grams

The political discourse in India experienced a fundamental shift when the Sachar Committee Report revealed that despite the national and state governments’ minority development policies and programmes, the Muslim community was among the most deprived and backward, worse off than the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, in most of the outcome indicators. Many new pro-poor and inclusive policies were introduced as a response to the recommendations of the report. This book makes a critical assessment of the impact of ‘post-Sachar’ policies, bridging the gaps in empirical measurements and analytical documentation, and making them accessible to the public at large. The book recommends policies and institutions required for ensuring the constitutional right to equal opportunity for all Indian citizens, especially minorities, such as setting up of an Equal Opportunity Commission and systematically computing a diversity index to improve the process of assimilation of the deprived groups, including the minorities, into the national mainstream.

Abusaleh Shariff is Executive Director and Chief Scholar at US-India Policy Institute, Washington, DC, USA.