- By Abhishek Parashar
- Tue, 09 Dec 2025 01:57 PM (IST)
- Source:JNM
Fact Check: After the Supreme Court failed to grant any relief on a petition seeking an extension of the Waqf registration deadline, a post is circulating on various social media platforms claiming that the Sachar Commission, in its report, recommended one Muslim vote be considered as two and 30 per cent of Indian parliamentary seats and 40 per cent of state assembly seats be reserved for Muslims. Besides these two claims, the post makes a total of 10 other similar claims.
Vishvas News investigated and found that most of these claims were false and lacked factual accuracy. The Sachar Committee recommended improving the status of Muslims through educational reforms and efforts aimed at financial inclusion. It did not recommend that one Muslim vote be counted as two, nor that 30 and 40 per cent of seats in Parliament and state assemblies be reserved for Muslims, respectively.
What is viral?
Many users have shared this post on Vishvas News' tipline number +91 9599299372, in which it is written, "If a Muslim casts 1 vote, it will be counted as 2 votes. This was the demand of the Sachar Commission. What was the Sachar Commission? Which was brought by Sonia Gandhi in 2005 during Manmohan Singh's government? The commission named ‘Sachar Commission’ was formed at the behest of Sonia Gandhi, whose job was to assess the economic condition of Muslims in India. In simple words, Congress formed ‘Sachar Commission’ in 2005 to make India's existence Talibani The ‘Sachar Commission’ prepared a fabricated report at the behest of Sonia Gandhi and fed the country the lie that the condition of Muslims in India is worse than that of Dalits and tribals. Now the ‘Sachar Commission’ has suggested 10 ways to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to improve the condition of Muslims and demanded its implementation in India as soon as possible. Those 10 big demands were like this: 1) Muslims should get double the rights as per their population in India, that is, if a Muslim casts 1 vote, it should be counted as 2 votes 2) Along with OBC reservation, Muslims should get full benefit of SC-ST share of reservation 3) If a Muslim takes a loan from any bank, then half of the loan should be paid by the Central and State Governments together And 20% of the total budget of India should be kept aside for Muslims and the entire country should be run with the remaining budget 4) Muslims should be provided free education under the Minority Ministry for all types of graduation studies including IIT-IIM and MBBS 5) The Education Ministry of India should provide free education to Muslims Madrasa degree should also be recognized for becoming IAS- IPS- PCS and Judge 6) 30% seats of MPs in India and 40% seats of MLAs in every state should be reserved for Muslims 7) The share of Muslims in every state government board, corporation and government jobs should be increased to 50% 8) There should be separate industrial zones in every state for Muslims to do business and they should get free electricity and free land along with debt-free loan 9) For the marriage of Muslim girls, the central government should provide Rs. 5 lakh and the state government should provide Rs. 2 lakh and the government should provide Rs. 10 lakh grant to Muslim boys for self-employment 10) Any village, town, city or district where the Muslim population is more than 25% should be reserved only for Muslims to contest elections You will easily get all the information about ‘Sachar Commission’ on Google and Youtube After strong opposition from BJP, Congress launched ‘Sachar Could not implement the Commission’ otherwise the two Muslim votes would have outweighed the one Hindu vote and the politics of India and the resources of the entire country would have gone into the control of Muslims Read this post 10 times yourself and make it reach 100 crore Hindus by sharing it.”
Many other users on different social media platforms have shared this post with similar and identical claims.
Investigation
The post makes 10 in total, the first being that the Sachar Committee allegedly recommended that "Muslims should get double the rights as per their population in India, that is, if a Muslim casts one vote, it should be counted as two votes."
The Sachar Committee report is available on the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India website. This committee was constituted during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and submitted its report in 2006. We did not find any recommendations related to Muslim voting, including the suggestion that a Muslim vote should count as two. This claim is also false.
However, the report does mention the exclusion of Muslims from voter lists. "In many states, the names of Muslims are not included in the voter lists," the report states.
It is worth noting that Article 326 of the Indian Constitution guarantees citizens the right to vote (one person, one vote). Previously, the voting age was 21 years, but it was lowered to 18 years following the 61st Amendment in 1988.
Second claim
"Muslims should get the full benefit of OBC reservation as well as SC-ST reservation."
Investigation
This claim is also misleading. The Sachar Committee did not recommend extending SC/ST reservations to Muslims along with OBC reservations. It only proposed that socially and educationally backward Muslim groups be included in the OBC category.
The report states, "The Constitutional (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, commonly known as the Presidential Order (1950), limits SC (Scheduled Caste) status to only those Hindu groups whose occupations are 'dirty' (unclean). Therefore, their non-Hindus, such as converts from the middle castes, are grouped with them and declared OBCs. Thus, OBCs among Muslims fall into two broad categories. Halalkhors, Helas, Lalbegis or Bhangis (scavengers), Dhobis (washermen), Naais or Hajjams (barbers), Chiks (butchers), Fakirs (beggars), etc., belonging to the 'Arzal' (untouchable), are among the 'untouchable' converts to Islam who have found a place in the OBC list. Momins or Julahas (weavers), Darzis or Idiris (tailors), Rayeens or Kunjaras (vegetable sellers) are among the 'untouchable' converts to Islam who have found a place in the OBC list." The Ajlaf, or 'clean', are people from working castes. Thus, three groups can be seen among Muslims: (1) those who are not socially backward, i.e. Ashraf; (2) those who are equivalent to Hindu OBCs, i.e. Ajlaf; and (3) those who are equivalent to Hindu SCs, Arzal, who are called Muslim OBCs and are made up of (2) and (3)."
The report cites states like Kerala and Karnataka, where the entire Muslim population has benefited from reservations. It also notes that several groups within the Muslim community are included in the central list but have yet to be included in the state list.
Third claim
"If a Muslim takes a loan from any bank, then half of the loan should be paid by the Central and State governments together, and 20% of India's total budget should be kept aside for Muslims, and the entire country should be run with the remaining budget!"
Investigation
The claim that the Central and State governments will repay half of the Muslim loans and 20 per cent of the Central Budget will be reserved exclusively for Muslims is fake.
However, the report states that Muslims have limited and inadequate access to bank credit or loans. Citing 2001 census data, the report states that in villages with a high Muslim population, the percentage of households with access to banking services is significantly lower. This lack of financial access for Muslims impacts their socioeconomic and educational progress. Therefore, strengthening their access to credit is essential to empower them financially.
Additionally, "Steps should be taken to provide direct credit specifically to Muslims, create awareness about various credit schemes and bring transparency in providing information."
Fourth claim
"Muslims should be provided free education under the Minority Ministry for all types of graduation courses, including IIT-IIM and MBBS!"
Investigation
This claim is also fake.
The Sachar Committee report emphasises the inclusive development and mainstreaming of Indian Muslims, recommending integration of Madrasa education (linking them to the Higher Secondary School Board), opening of ITI and Polytechnic institutes for skill development in Muslim-majority areas, providing scholarships and other financial assistance to students, and setting up of high-quality government schools in Muslim-majority areas.
Additionally, it recommends the opening of schools exclusively for girls in Muslim-majority areas, particularly for grades 9-12, to increase girls' participation in schooling. It also emphasises the need to provide free and high-quality education to children up to the age of 14.
Fifth claim
"The Education Ministry of India should also recognise the Madrasa degree of Muslims for becoming IAS-IPS-PCS and a Judge!"
Investigation
This claim is also misleading and incomplete. The committee, in its report, emphasises the need for modernisation of madrasas, saying they should be viewed as complementary to, not as an alternative to, regular schools.
Additionally, arrangements should be made to link madrasas with higher secondary school boards, so that students can graduate from madrasas and seamlessly transition into mainstream education.
Furthermore, degrees obtained from madrasas should be recognised for eligibility in competitive examinations such as civil services, banking, defence services, and other similar examinations.
Sixth claim
"30% of MP seats and 40% of MLA seats in every state in India should be reserved for Muslims!"
Investigation
The claim that the Sachar Committee report recommended reserving 30 per cent seats in Parliament and 40 per cent seats in Legislative Assemblies for Muslims is fake and factually incorrect.
However, the report discusses the low political representation of Muslims. It suggests several measures to improve their participation, including a more rational delimitation of constituencies so that Muslim-majority constituencies are not reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), thereby limiting Muslim representation.
Seventh claim
"Increase the share of Muslims in every state government board, corporation and government job in India to 50%!"
Investigation
This claim is also false.
The committee, in its recommendation, said, "A detailed analysis of the share of Muslims in government jobs and other programmes has revealed that their share in both is very low. While no allegations of discrimination are being made, it would be advisable to include community experts in the relevant interview panels and boards. This practice is already in practice in the case of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes."
Eighth claim
"There should be separate industrial zones in every state for Muslims to do business, and they should get debt-free loans, free electricity and free land there!"
This claim is also false. The committee did not recommend the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for Muslims or the provision of free electricity, free land, and no-cost loans in its report.
However, the committee recommended expanding coverage under the public program to include more schemes and loans from NABARD and SIDBI. It also suggested that SIDBI set aside a fund for training minorities under its Entrepreneurial Development Program.
The committee report recommends formulating a policy to increase the share of minorities in NABARD's micro-credit schemes. This policy should outline the interventions NABARD needs to make to increase the share of Muslims in micro-credit through a mix of targets and incentive schemes based on the percentage of the Muslim population in the village.
Ninth claim
"The central government should provide Rs 5 lakh and the state government Rs 5 lakh for the marriage of Muslim girls, and the government should provide Rs 10 lakh for the self-employment of Muslim boys!"
Investigation
This claim is also false. The Sachar Committee did not recommend giving Muslim women Rs 5 lakh for marriage or Rs 10 lakh for Muslim men to start their own businesses in its report.
However, in its report, the committee has recommended several targeted programmes to bring Muslims under the ambit of financial inclusion and ensure their easy access to credit.
10th claim
"Any village, town, city or district where the Muslim population is more than 25% should be reserved only for Muslims to contest elections!"
Investigation
The committee does not recommend reserving any constituency exclusively for Muslims, but rather calls for reforms in the existing delimitation system (which reserves Muslim-majority seats for Scheduled Castes) to give Muslims a fair chance of representation in proportion to their population.
That is, the report discusses better political representation of Muslims, rather than creating separate constituencies for them.
We contacted Naved Hamid, a former member of the National Integration Council and former president of the All India Muslim Masjid Mushawarat, regarding the viral claim. He said, "The Sachar Committee's recommendations were aimed at the socio-economic and educational empowerment of minorities. It suggested better political representation for Muslims through delimitation, not separate electorates. It also offered several suggestions for their educational advancement. However, claims aimed at the betterment of Muslims are deliberately misrepresented on social media."
Conclusion: The claim that several seats in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies should be reserved for Muslims and that their votes should count as two is false. The Sachar Committee, constituted during the Congress-led UPA government in 2005, did not make any such recommendations in its report. Furthermore, the other claim shared in the viral post, which attributes this committee's report, is misleading and baseless, distorting facts.
