Tracking the poor representation of Muslims in virtually every sector, the Sachar Committee, in its report to the Prime Minister, has uncovered a more worrying trend: in the IIMs and IITs, laboratories of India’s growth story, Muslim students make only 1.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent (about 4 per cent in the higher stages) respectively.

Data collected by the Committee from five IIMs for 2004-05 and 2005-06 puts the Muslim count at 1.3 per cent or 63 in a total of 4743 students. The Committee did not have the socio-religious break-up of the number of students who take the Common Admission Test (CAT) since no such data is collected. But on the basis of data available for all levels of the examination — the written test, the interview that follows and the group discussion — the Committee has concluded that while the success rate for Muslim candidates is better than those for other communities (a strike rate of “one out of three”) yet, in the final list, only 1.3 per cent of those who make it are Muslims.

As far as the IITs go, of the existing 27,161 IITians, “only 894 are Muslims.” At the under-graduate level, only 1.7 per cent are Muslim. Though the percentage gets better at the higher stages — about 4 per cent — it’s still lower than their population share. The share of Muslims in PhD courses is somewhat better than that for other courses.

In its report, the Committee concludes that “apparently, Muslims are able to compete better when they complete their graduation.”

... contd.