The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government (2004-14) led by the Congress came to power with a radical agenda for religious minorities. This included legislation and policies against discrimination and disadvantages suffered by religious minorities, especially Muslims, and a new framework for delivering substantive equality of opportunity. This work offers a new interpretation of the UPA's record. In critically re-evaluating the UPA's performance, it uses an institutional policy analysis approach which combines historical institutionalism (and path dependence) with policy analysis.