COMMUNICATION 69 reforms have definitely benefited the Muslim population, who fought actively for the legislative changes. Thus to suggest that land reforms in some way have more adversely affected the Muslim masses in India is only to inculcate a feeling of sympathy among Muslims for those who benefit from communalism: the priestly and landlord minority. In fact, far more harmful to the Muslim minority has been the spate of evictions of poor and middle peasants by landlords that followed partition and ^zamindari abolition'.11 Rural or Urban? Far from being ^a heavily urban community/51 a the Muslims while slightly more urbanized than the Hindus are predominantly rural. According to the most recent study published on Muslim demography, ^ofa population of 46.9 million in 1961, 34.2 million were enumerated a.s rural, the rural segment thus making up 73 per cent of the total Muslim population or 9.5 per cent of the nation's total rural population. The Muslim proportion in the rural population is thus approximately identical to their share in the total population.9^9 (emphasis added). Moreover, the Muslim population is not identically spread all over the country. It is concentrated in clusters, the chief among which again show a rural predominance. ^In the Jhclum valley and adjoining regions in Kashmir the Muslims are almost exclusively rural, so much so that their share in the rural population is higher than their share in the total population.5?1A In Baramula, Anantnag, Srinagar, Ladakh, Udhampur, Poonch and Kathua the proportion varies between 95 and 99 per cent of the total rural population. Apart from Kashmir and Malappurarn which lias a rural concentration of Muslims the only other areas of significant Muslim habitation are Murshidabad and Malda districts of West Bengal, with respectively 55.8 and 46.1 per cent of the total population. The authors state that apart from Kashmir, in West Bengal ^the real rural character of the Muslim population comes outmost clearly".15 ^In Murshidabad for instance while the Muslim proportion in the total population is above 55 per cent it is only 20.4 per cent in the urban area. In Malda the respective figures are 22 per cent as against 46 and in Nadia 4.5 as against 24.355.16 This pattern holds good for much of India, as shown in table I. 17 Thus the only significant area (out of the four all over India) that corresponds to the desciiption given in the note is that of Rohilkhand and the Upper Doab in which Aligarh is situated. If we are to take all areas of Muslim habitation into account, only three of the sixteen qualify as ^predominantly urban" while seven would qualify as ^predominantly rural95, not to speak of those that rank ^medium to high55. Thus it is clear that the agrarian question is the key to the Muslim minority's problems. Whoever takes the lead in implementing land reforms will clearly rally the Muslim peasantry behind them as both the Kashmir and West Bengal