DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2014.v02i05.015

Pages: 694-700

The minority system i.e. a system of elaborately stratified society distinguishes India from most other societies. Among the most distinctive factors of the minority is the close link between minority and occupations, especially in rural India. Along with the other backward castes, the Muslims have the highest incidence of poverty in India, with poverty rates that are much higher than the rest of the population. Since independence, the Indian government has enacted affirmative action policies in educational institutions and employment programmes for Muslims. Thus, efforts have been made by using the primary data to assess whether these actions have led to a weakening of the relationship between minority status and occupational segregation that has existed historically in India. It is evident that the occupational structure of the Muslim households is converging to that of the non-scheduled households.