DISCUSSION . 69 proportionately fewer school pupils and college students among Muslims than in other major communities seems well established. It is probable that the literacy rate among Muslims is also lower. The reasons offered for this are: (a) inherited backwardness owing to the failure of Muslims to take to modern education in time; (b) economic backwardness prevents parents from sending children to school; (c) the emphasis on Hindi and practical exclusion of Urdu (so far) in Uttar Pradesh and the other Hindi-speaking states; and (d) migration of large numbers of educated Muslims to Pakistan. 3 Discrimination is practised against Muslims in employment. (a) In public services, such as police, where Muslims tended to be well represented, they have been excluded by deliberate design (for example, G B Pant's secret circular in Uttar Pradesh) for a very large number of years. Even when ther£ is no deliberate discrimination against Muslims, they tend to be excluded because employment and promotion are so heavily made on caste basis. (b)Since the Muslims are educationally backward, they are not recruited in adequate numbers through open,, copetitive examinations, (c) Indian business being still largely governed by bonds of family and caste, very few Muslims are employed by industrial and commercial firms. 4 Practically there is suppression of Urdu by denying it any role as a medium of instruction or as a language of administration in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for the last 25 years. A person knowing only Urdu cannot even read the road signs. Official schemes such as those of employing Urdu primary school teachers and translating large numbers of books into Urdu are welcome; but so long as Urdu is not made the second official language in states where over 10 per cent of the people regard it as their mother-tongue, it would be hardly worthwhile for anyone to read in this language. 5 There is insecurity of life and property. Being a minority, Muslims usually suffer far more than any other section,, when a communal riot occurs. It is now even officially recognized (as during the revolt of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) in Uttar Pradesh, when the faults of the PAG were being publicized), that the police has not only failed to protect Muslims but has in fact often attacked them. Proposals/or Consideration These are by no means what the Muslim communalists regard as their principal grievances. Their main targets, for some time, have been the proposed changes in Muslim Personal Law and the altered character of the Aligarh Muslim University. These two points will be taken up subsequently in this note, since these grievances cannot be regarded as crucial or even legitimate by any democratic movement. It has to be explained to the Muslim masses thai basic relief can come only when the present regime is replaced by a People's Democratic regime. But it is at the same time necessary to formulate such proposals