Muslims of West Bengal: An analysis of the educational status of a minority community in India

Type Working Paper - Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs
Title Muslims of West Bengal: An analysis of the educational status of a minority community in India
Author(s)
Volume 29
Issue 2
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2009
Page numbers 249-260
URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13602000902943724#.VdkTZPntmko
Abstract
Education is a crucial social factor that initiates the process of social, economic and cultural development of communities. Muslims are the second largest religious group in West Bengal and the largest minority in this Indian state. With a population of over 20 million in absolute numbers, Muslims constitute 25% of the total population of the state. The main objective of this study is to analyze the regional imbalances in the distributional pattern of Muslims, including the trend of the Muslim population over the past century and in the future and the concentration patterns of the Muslim population across the state, in the context of developing an educational profile of Muslims in West Bengal. Since the religion wise data on any other educational indicator are not available at district level, this study utilizes only the data on literacy to examine the level of educational development of Muslims across the region. Finally, the study examines the relationship between literacy level and concentration of Muslim population in West Bengal. The relative backwardness of the Muslim community, particularly in education, is noted as a factor in the relative economic backwardness observed among the Muslim population in India.

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