In her article, ‘Counting heads, missing the picture’ (IE, June 2), Jaya Jaitly criticises the Sachar Committee report for distorting data to support its a “pre-ordained picture” about the general backwardness of the Muslim community. She rebuts this by recounting instances of successful Muslim craft-based entrepreneurships, to project a happier image of the community. Her arguments not only reveal a poor understanding of history but betray an affinity with the Sangh’s thinking, according to which Muslims have had it pretty good and any attempt at their social uplift is an act of politicking.

Contrary to her assertion that Muslim craftsmen came to India with the Mughals, along the Gujarat coast, Islam came with Arab traders soon after the death of the Prophet as early as the 7th century. The Chipas, a caste group Jaitly mentions as being famous for their block printing skills, can be Muslim or Hindu. Originally from Rajasthan, Muslim Chipas trace their history to some time around 1291 and are today mainly settled in the Chipawad area of Ahmedabad’s old walled city. It is bad enough that Jaitly romanticises the traditional craft skills of certain Muslim communities and reinforces stereotypes about Muslims being naturally good at crafts. But arguing that Muslims dominate certain trades and not others simply because of personal preferences is much worse, because it is both factually incorrect and dangerous. Many poor Chipas lament the fact that they don’t have other more paying skills, because of which they are forced to continue doing block printing.

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