Every so often one hears of discrimination against Indian Muslims in state employment, particularly ... Is there real discrimination against Muslims just because they are Muslims? Can the alleged discrimination be established in a court of law? Or is this merely a case of fantasy versus reality?

Since most government hiring is through competitive examinations held by roll numbers rather than names, the likelihood of discrimination on the basis of Muslim-sounding names is absent. However, where interviews are involved, it is possible to discriminate against not merely Muslims ... If the absence of Muslims in the civil service is attributed to lack of education, what: accounts for the absence of Muslims as peons in say, the Contral Secretariat in New Delhi?

In the armed forces, ... today, guestimates number them around two percent out of a total of close to a million. Why so few Muslims? ... Since 1989, there is a policy to recruit soldiers from around the nation by rejecting the theory of "martial races". If this policy is followed in letter and spirit, there is no reason why Muslims will be left out ... It is unreasonable to expect that each religious group will be "represented" in each service/ occupation in exact proportion to its population ... (Source: The Indian Express, 25 August, 1999)

Shahabuddin's Response Letter to Omar Khalidi, 8 September, 1999

The Indian Express published an article by you "The Muslim Discrimination is a Fantasy", recently.

I regret that this article is unrealistic, to say the least.

Recruitment to public employment at the level of constable in the police force, Jawans in the armed forces and, as you have yourself pointed out, peon or drivers in the bureaucracy does not demand high level of education.

I dare say that despite educational backwardness, there are adequate number of eligible candidates for non-gazetted posts. So the answer is obvious: under-representation is due to bias and prejudice.

At the higher levels, except for the UPSC, even written examinations are not fool proof and when, they are coupled with interview, Muslims, unless they are at the top of the seat, are likely to be eliminated. I personally know of many such cases.

It is true that representation cannot be arithmetically proportional but then statistically it should, once in a while, also exceed the proportion. Under-presentation is thus a persistent phenomenon - across the land, at every level, in every cadre. Statistics for 50 years in hundred of services themselves constitute an infallible evidence.

Moreover, when it comes to judging one individual's merit, the low. educational level of his community is not material. An individual can always be an exception.

Therefore, my conclusion is that while Muslims must strive for educational development, at the same time they -should enjoy reservation (like SC, ST and OBC) at least for 2 generations. This is also now the view of our stalwarts like Saiyid Hamid and A.M. Khusro.