Development process in a market economy leads to widening of interpersonal and interregional inequalities. Historically, in the Indian society, interaction of caste, class, gender and religious identities had a strong bearing on distribution of the fruits of development outcomes. To ensure equity-based access to the benefits of socio-economic development, Indian Constitution provides reservation to the deprived sections in educational institutions and public sector job market.

This book is based on a comprehensive primary survey-led major research project sponsored by the ICSSR. This is first of its kind study to determine the socio-economic and educational status of OBC/Dalit Muslims in comparison to other socio-religious groups in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Findings of the study are very illuminating as it seeks to settle many issues and controversies regarding the reservation policy in India, inform policy makers for formulating development programmes for the deprived sections of the society, and provoke researchers to undertake further research studies on the subject.

Surinder Kumar is currently Visiting Professor at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (a central university), Lucknow. He is former Director of Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow and former Professor of Economics at Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak. He was Post-Doctoral Ford Foundation Visiting Scholar at the New Jersey State University, Newark and University of California, Berkeley.

Fahimuddin was Professor of Economics at the Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow. He is presently associated with Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University as Professor of Economics (Guest Faculty). During his long academic career at the Giri Institute of Development Studies, he conducted eighty research projects for different national and international agencies.

Prashant Kumar Trivedi, Associate Professor at the Giri Institute of Development Studies, has done his doctorate in Sociology from the University of Lucknow. His research interests include political economy of land question, agrarian relations, rural studies and issues relating to Dalits, Muslims and women.

Srinivas Goli is teaching Population Studies at the Centre for the Studies in Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is also a NGN research fellow at the Australia India Institute, The University of Western Australia, Australia and visiting faculty at the University of Gottingen, Germany. His research interest includes population dynamics and its implications for development, demography, public health and nutritional inequalities, and demographics of gender.