Najmuddin A Farooqi.
My interest in this subject arises from a recurring observation: many Muslims often criticize their own community for its shortcomings, particularly the lack of strong modern educational institutions. At the same time, they tend to praise other religious minorities for their notable contributions in the field of education. However, this tendency to assign blame whether to religious scholars (Maulvis) or to historical circumstances reflects less of a genuine concern and more of a collective sense of guilt among individuals who have themselves failed to contribute meaningfully to society. Such accusations are often unfounded and only deepen the sense of frustration and disillusionment within an already disheartened community.
When asked to clarify exactly whom they hold responsible or what they mean by admiring other minorities’ efforts, many of these critics are left without clear answers. This curiosity led me to investigate the facts more closely.
Over time, I have written several pieces on this subject and even compiled a list of universities and colleges established by Muslims or bearing Muslim names. I will not repeat those details here; rather, this discussion should be seen as an extension of that earlier work.
The key focus here is on the investment made by various religious minorities in education relative to their per capita income. It is often claimed that micro-minorities such as the Jains and Sikhs operate a significantly larger number of educational institutions compared to the Muslim community, especially when their population size is taken into account.
To put this in perspective: Jains constitute only about 0.4% of India’s population (around 540,000 people) yet are among the wealthiest groups in the country second only to the Parsis (whose population is roughly 60,000). Approximately 70% of Jains are considered prosperous. Sikhs follow closely, with around 59.6% of their population falling into the higher wealth brackets. Next come the upper-caste Hindus, Christians, lower-caste groups and finally, Muslims, who occupy the lowest position in terms of per capita income.
It is understandable, therefore, that Jains own a relatively large number of educational institutions, given their wealth and cultural similarities with Hindus in terms of customs, rituals and social structures. Interestingly, however, the proportion of such institutions among Sikhs is not particularly high despite their relative affluence.
Muslims, despite having the lowest per capita income, have nonetheless established a noteworthy number of universities specializing in modern education, science and technology. They also maintain numerous colleges dedicated to higher education, vocational training, and skill development alongside a substantial network of religious institutions.
A holistic analysis of these facts leads to a surprising and significant conclusion: the Muslim minority, when measured in terms of investment in education relative to per capita income, ranks highest among all religious minorities and even surpasses several caste groups within the majority population.
