Part Five
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Telangana, India’s youngest among the 29 states and the 11th largest in the country, has one of the lowest and unsatisfactory representations of Muslim employees in government departments and organisations even as the third government in the 12th most populated state’s history is ruled by Congress for the first time.
There is no Muslim minister for the first time in the state now while the previous two Cabinets had a Muslim face. The state’s first deputy chief minister from 2014 to 2018 was a Muslim who handled portfolios including Home, Prisons, Fire Services, Revenue, Stamps and Registrations, Relief and Rehabilitation, and Urban Land Ceiling in the TRS/BRS government until 2023, according to a new book Muslims in India – Ground Realities Versus Fake Narratives – Achievements & Accomplishments.
The ninth-largest economy in the country has a Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Rs13,972,071 million (equivalent to Rs16 trillion in 2023) and has a GSDP per capita of Rs417,000 (equivalent to Rs420,000 in 2023). Its per capita income has grown at a higher average rate than other southern states. In 2022-23, Telangana ranked fourth in terms of per capita income. Its contribution to India’s GDP has increased from 4.1 percent in 2014-15 to 4.9 percent in 2022-23.
The state’s economy is driven by several sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, information technology, and pharmaceuticals. Sixteen Backward Class (BC) communities accounted for 75 to 80 percent of the Muslim population in the state. The socio-political and economic landscape of Telangana reveals a pronounced asymmetry in the representation of its largest religious minority. Around 12.43 percent of Telangana’s population in 2001 were Muslims, a number that increased to 12.68 percent during 2011.
Of 4.465 million Muslims in Telangana, 1.713 million were located in Hyderabad district constituting 43.5 percent of the total Muslim population in the state. While 27.3 percent of the Hindu population was below 14 years of age, for Muslims it was 33 percent. Despite constituting a significant 12.68 percent of the population as per the 2011 census, the Muslim community confronts challenges in getting due representation in several socio-economic domains. The representation of Muslims in governmental positions experienced a notable decline, plummeting to five percent in 2010 from nearly 40 percent in 1950.
The community has a substantial presence, notably comprising 43.5 percent of the Hyderabad district. Muslims wield significant influence in electoral outcomes, particularly in Ranga Reddy, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Medak, Nizamabad, and Karimnagar districts, influencing results in at least 40 percent of the assembly constituencies. A three-member Commission of Inquiry, headed by retired IAS officer G Sudhir, set up in 2016 by the Telangana government, investigated the socio-economic conditions of the Muslim community.
It highlighted the under-representation of Muslims in the bureaucracy and their limited participation in economic and social platforms. The commission observed that across the Telangana government’s 23 departments, the representation of Muslim employees stood at approximately 7.36 percent, which starkly contrasts with the community’s population of around 13 percent. The commission recommended initiatives and schemes for community inclusion in education, health, finance, entrepreneurship, and credit availability. Currently, 16 percent of individuals from the community have never attended any educational institution.
Drop-out rates among the Muslim community are high, with a disparity among the genders. According to data, the percentage of male dropouts in the age groups of 18–20 and 21–29 is 31.6 percent and 81.5 percent, respectively. For females, the corresponding figures were 71.5 percent and 52.8 percent.
In the State’s Administrative Service in 2023, one of the 69 officers is a Muslim, and three Muslims among 105 State Police Service officials. In police departments, the number of Superintendents of Police (SPs) and Additional SPs stands at 42 of which one is a Muslim. Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs) and Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) number 65 of which two are Muslims. Out of the 667 Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors in Law and Order and Crime divisions, only 36 belong to the Muslim community. In the State Administrative Service in Telangana, 23 out of 525 officials are Muslims while six among 155 State Police Service belong to the Muslim community.
Muslim Officials (including Principal Secretary, Directors, Deputy, and Assistant Directors) at the Labour Department stand at 15 out of the total 154. At the State Legal Services Authority, the top officials account for 29 with no Muslim on board. As many as 45 of the 804 retainer lawyers are Muslims. Two Muslims are there in the Management Team of the Department of Commercial Taxes with the overall numbers being 248. Among the 85 Drug Control and Inspection officials, five are Muslims across the state.
No Muslim became the Head of Prosecution and Advocate General (AG) in Telangana over the past decade. No Muslim became the five chief justices that Telangana had while also 35 judges had no community representation.
Fourteen of the 468 Additional AGs and Government Pleaders have been Muslims while 10 of the 193 District Prosecuting Officers have been Muslims. In the Excise/Prohibition Department’s Management and Inspection Teams, only one is a Muslim out of the total 15. Two of the 69 senior management team members at the Hyderabad L&T Metro Rail are Muslims. Muslim officials in the Public Works Department (PWD) are 39 including one Superintending Engineer among the 671 total. In the State Road Transport Corporation (RTC), only eight are Muslim officials out of a total of 240. There is no Muslim among 290 officials in the Senior Management Team of the Forest Department.
Nine of the 164 IAS officers in Telangana are Muslims while three out of 123 are IPS officers. Sixty of the 331 martyrs of the State Police Force have been Muslims. Telangana State Public Service Commission has two chairmen with no Muslims while one of the 17 members had been a Muslim. The number of registered doctors with the State Medical Council between 2009 and 2022 stands at 7,968 of which 1,525 are Muslims. Only two Muslims are represented in the 29 members of the statutory Telangana State Bar Council as members. Among 423 District and Session Judges/Senior Civil Judges/Junior Civil Judges, 17 are Muslims.
In Hyderabad, the City Civil Court, City Small Causes Court, Metropolitan Sessions Court, CBI Court, and Integrated Family Courts have a total of 82 judges of which seven are Muslims.
Of the total 8,813 officials of all departments in districts as of January 2024, 502 belong to the Muslim community. The number includes collectors and the heads of departments, RDOs, and DRDOs, and excludes police officials except for the SPs. Fifteen of 282 Principals of government and private ITIs in Telangana are Muslims. Seven of the 138 Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department Station Fire Officers are Muslims. Only two of 56 District Fire Officers are Muslims. When it comes to Mee Seva Authorized Centres Agents, 455 of the 4,525 are Muslims. As many as 126 officials are Muslims among 1,463 working in Municipal Corporations in Telangana. Similarly, Muslims in the state universities stand at 27 out of 274 (top management), 70 in 1,053 (academics), and 24 in 644 in administration.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the share of Muslims among convicted prisoners in Telangana is the third highest in the country at 21.7 percent.
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Next Part: Muslims are 11.5 % in Maharashtra but Have Minimal Presence in Governance
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