There is growing talk of political change in India. With the next Lok Sabha election due in 2029, many people already believe that the present government could eventually be replaced. But there is a more important question that Muslims need to ask: if the government changes, will the condition of Indian Muslims change too?
Will the next government guarantee their safety, equal opportunities, economic progress, educational advancement and dignity? Or will only the political leadership change while the deeper problems remain? These questions cannot be answered through emotion or political loyalty. They require data, history and a clear political strategy.
Muslims have serious concerns about the present political environment, including hate speech, communal polarisation, vigilante violence, allegations of being “Bangladeshi” or “anti-national”, and the demolition of homes and businesses that critics have described as collective punishment.
Human Rights Watch has documented attacks on Muslims, hate speech and demolitions of Muslim homes and properties without due process. Its 2026 India report said authorities continued to carry out unlawful demolitions. It also reported that hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslims and Rohingya refugees were expelled to Bangladesh in 2025 without due process, with some Indian citizens reportedly among those affected.
The Supreme Court has also intervened on the issue of demolitions. In its November 2024 judgment, the Court made it clear that the executive cannot punish an accused person by demolishing his property. It rejected what has popularly been called “bulldozer justice” and stressed the importance of due process.
These are serious concerns. But history tells us another story too. Muslims have faced communal violence, discrimination, false accusations, arbitrary arrests and terrorism-related prosecutions under governments that described themselves as secular. Therefore, the question cannot simply be, “How do we remove the present government?” The bigger question should be: “What guarantees will the next government provide to ensure that these problems do not return in another form?”
A change in government does not automatically produce a change in the lives of citizens. That is particularly important for a community whose challenges extend beyond electoral politics. Muslims may strongly desire a change of government, but have Muslim organisations, intellectuals and political leaders prepared a detailed roadmap for what they want from the next government? Have they prepared a written charter of demands?
Political parties should be asked to make clear and measurable commitments on security, education, employment, economic opportunities, access to credit, housing, healthcare, political representation and protection from discrimination. They should also be questioned about police accountability, speedy justice, minority educational institutions, and the protection of homes, businesses, mosques and other religious properties. The recommendations of government-appointed commissions that remain unimplemented should also form part of this discussion.
If such a roadmap already exists, it needs to be made public and debated widely. If it does not exist, it is time to prepare one.
The argument that Muslims face socio-economic and educational disadvantages is not simply political rhetoric. Several government-appointed committees have documented these gaps. The Sachar Committee, established by the UPA government and headed by Justice Rajindar Sachar, submitted its report in 2006. It found that Muslims lagged behind other communities in several areas, including education, employment, income and access to institutional finance.
The employment figures were particularly revealing. The committee found that Muslims accounted for only 4.8% of civil services employees in the data it examined, while their population share at the time was around 13.4%. Their representation was also low in railways, banks, security services, universities and public-sector employment.
There has been progress since then, but the gaps have not disappeared. According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Muslim literacy rate increased from 59.1% in 2001 to 68.5% in 2011. Government data based on the Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2023–24 put Muslim literacy at 79.5%, compared with 80.9% for all religions.
This is genuine progress. But progress should not be confused with equality. Government data also showed the Muslim work participation rate at 32.6% in Census 2011, compared with 41% among Hindus and 39.8% for the population as a whole. The real question, therefore, is not whether Muslims have progressed. They have. The question is whether they have progressed fast enough to close the gap.
The Sachar Committee was not the only body to study these issues. The Ranganath Misra Commission, formally known as the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, submitted its report in 2007. Among other recommendations, it proposed 10% reservation for Muslims and 5% for other minorities in government employment, based on its assessment of backwardness and under-representation.
The recommendation was politically controversial and was never implemented nationally in the form proposed by the Commission. Then came the Amitabh Kundu Committee, constituted in 2013 to examine the implementation of the Sachar recommendations and the Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme.
Its findings were again significant. The committee said that the resources and physical targets available for minority development were inadequate compared with the scale of deprivation, particularly among Muslims. It called for greater resources, demand-driven scholarships and stronger development programmes. It also supported stronger anti-discrimination measures and a diversity index covering areas such as education, employment and access to development opportunities.
The message is important: social justice cannot depend only on reservation. Institutions also need mechanisms to prevent systematic exclusion. This is where the political debate should move—from political slogans to measurable commitments.
A change in government may reduce hate speech, mob violence and arbitrary demolitions. That would matter, but it would not be enough. Muslims also need equal access to education, jobs, credit, housing, professional opportunities and political representation. Young people should not have to face years of legal battles without due process.
These are not merely minority concerns. They are questions of equal citizenship. A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found that 21% of Indian Muslims reported religious discrimination in the previous year, rising to 40% in northern India. At the same time, 95% of Indian Muslims said they were very proud to be Indian.
The message is clear: the overwhelming majority of Indian Muslims seek neither separation nor special treatment. They want to live with dignity, security and equal opportunity.
One of the biggest political mistakes would be to assume that somebody else will solve these problems. Muslims cannot simply vote against one party and assume their responsibility is over. A government can change because of the votes of the majority, but Muslim empowerment cannot be outsourced to the majority.
Muslim citizens, professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, women, youth, civil society organisations and political leaders must develop their own agenda. They must know what they want before election campaigns begin. They must negotiate politically rather than merely support politically. They must ask political parties to put commitments in writing. And after the election, they must measure governments by what they actually deliver.
A future government may promise to restore democracy, strengthen constitutional institutions, protect freedom of expression and uphold secularism. These are essential commitments. But Muslims should ask one additional question: what specific policies will address their educational, economic and social disadvantages?
The demand should not be for special treatment simply because Muslims are Muslims. It should be for equal citizenship, equal protection and fair opportunity, with targeted measures wherever reliable evidence shows structural disadvantage.
The Sachar and Kundu findings provide an evidence-based starting point. The Ranganath Misra Commission provides another set of recommendations. The Supreme Court’s rulings provide an important constitutional framework for due process and individual rights. The challenge is to turn these findings into a practical political programme.
Indian politics has often shown that election promises do not always become real results. People should therefore not judge a political party only by its slogans or promises. They should ask for clear targets, timelines, budgets and details about who will be responsible. They should also ask how progress will be measured and what action will be taken if promises are not fulfilled.
Muslims should demand the same accountability from every political party, regardless of its ideology or political identity.
It is time to negotiate before the election. As of 2026, the 2029 Lok Sabha election is still some distance away. That is precisely why the time for preparation is now. Waiting until election season and then asking Muslims to vote against a particular party is not a strategy.
A better approach would be to prepare a “Muslim Development and Equal Citizenship Charter” well before the election. It could include measurable commitments on education, scholarships, employment, entrepreneurship, housing, healthcare, women’s empowerment, youth development, political representation, police accountability, hate crimes, communal violence, minority institutions and access to justice.
Political parties should then be asked a simple question: Will you accept these demands? If yes, put them in your manifesto. If not, explain why. And after the election, citizens should evaluate the government against the promises it made.
There is nothing wrong with wanting a change of government. Governments must be changed when citizens believe they have failed. But Muslims must understand that changing the government is not the same as changing their condition.
If the only objective is to remove the present government, another government may certainly come to power. But if the objective is security, dignity, education, economic empowerment, political representation and equal opportunity, Muslims themselves must help build the roadmap.
The responsibility cannot be left entirely to political parties. Nor can it be left to the majority community. Nor can it be postponed until election day.
The question Muslims should be asking today is therefore not merely, “Will the government change in 2029?” It is: “What must change in the lives of Muslims—and what guarantees will make that change permanent?”
Governments come and go. Political parties rise and fall. Election slogans change. But institutions, policies and social inequalities can survive for generations. If Muslims want their future to change, they must demand more than a change of government. They must demand a change in outcomes.
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Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan is a freelance content writer and editor based in Nagpur. He is also an activist and social entrepreneur and co-founder of TruthScape, a team of digital activists working to combat disinformation on social media
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