Living Reality of Muslims in West Bengal: Evidence Report

Published by Association SNAP and Guidance Guild in association with Pratichi Institute, Kolkata, this report documents the socio-economic conditions of Muslims in West Bengal through a large primary survey and secondary data analysis. First published in February 2016, it addresses stereotypes, information gaps and policy neglect by examining demography, education, economic condition, health, amenities, citizenship status, cultural practices and gender. With due permission from the publishing organizations, we have decided to make this comprehensive study available for public use.

Key Findings:

• Muslims constituted 27% of West Bengal's population in Census 2011; Murshidabad (66.3%) and Malda (51.3%) were Muslim-majority districts.
• The study covered 97,017 households in the first phase, including 79,913 rural and 17,104 urban households, followed by a detailed survey of 8,000 households.
• Muslim population growth was declining: decadal growth fell from 25.9% in 2001 to 21.8% in 2011, while the report finds no conclusive proof that illegal immigration explained the rise in Muslim population share.
• The survey found that 97% of Muslims in rural Bengal speak Bengali, challenging the common urban stereotype that Muslims are mostly Urdu-speaking.
• Literacy among rural Muslims was 68.3%, about four percentage points lower than the general rural population, but gender gaps in literacy were narrower than for the general population.
• Around 15% of Muslim children aged 6-14 were out of school; financial problems and distance to school were major reasons.
• Muslim-majority and Muslim-concentrated blocks faced weaker public provisioning, including fewer secondary and higher-secondary schools per lakh population and higher pupil-teacher ratios.
• Economic vulnerability was severe: around 80% of rural Muslim households reported monthly income of Rs 5,000 or less, and only small shares had regular public or private salaried jobs.
• Health and amenities gaps included weaker PHC staffing, limited access to tap water, low drainage provision, and high reliance on traditional cooking fuels.
• The gender chapter challenges stereotypes by showing relatively high participation of Muslim women in everyday household decisions, while also documenting concentration in low-paid menial work.

The report frames these findings as an issue of opportunity deprivation, social justice and democratic citizenship rather than a narrow religious question.