How do Muslims get reservation in India, what is BJP's objection to?

Many Muslim communities in India get reservation in the OBC lists of the Center and OBC lists of some states. According to a survey, about 41% of Muslims fall in OBC category.

Debate continues on Muslim reservation (ABP news)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is repeatedly accusing the Congress party of reducing the reservation given to SC/ST and other backward class people. PM Modi claims that the aim of Congress is to reduce the share of reservation given to these people and give it to all Muslims on the basis of religion, which is against the Constitution.

In such a situation, the question arises whether Muslims can get reservation under the Indian Constitution or not, if yes then how to get it and if reservation can be given to Muslims then what objection does BJP have.

First understand, can Muslims get reservation? 

Many Muslim communities in India get the benefit of OBC (Other Backward Class) reservation at the central and state level. This is directly related to Article 16(4) of the Constitution. This article says that reservation can be given to backward classes who are not adequately represented in state services. 

The Third Backward Class Commission headed by Justice O Chinnap Reddy has stated in its report that many Muslim communities are backward educationally and socially. In terms of education, the economic condition of some Muslims is like that of Scheduled Castes (SC).

On this basis, the Commission recommended giving reservation to Muslims only in education under Article 15(4) of the Constitution. The Justice Sachar Committee report in 2006 also reached the same conclusion. So overall, based on the provisions of the Constitution and the reports of Backward Class Commissions, OBC reservation is given to some Muslim communities.  

However, there is a catch in OBC reservation which we call 'creamy layer'. That means, those earning Rs 8 lakh or more annually do not get the benefit of reservation. No matter which backward class they belong to, those rich people will not get OBC reservation. This means that even those Muslims who have progressed socially and economically cannot get this reservation.

What is the current status of Muslim reservation in the country?

In the Centre's backward class list, there is a provision to give reservation to some Muslim castes in those states where Mandal Commission is in force. According to the PIB report, OBC reservation is being given to some castes of the Muslim community in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Teli Muslims and Muslim Kayasthas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Assam. However, the quota for Muslim reservation is different in every state.

• Out of 30% OBC quota in Kerala, Muslims get 8% reservation in education and 10% reservation in government jobs.
• Almost 95% Muslim community in Tamil Nadu gets the benefit of reservation.
• OBCs in Bihar are divided into two categories – backward and extremely backward classes. Most of the Muslims there belong to the 'extremely backward class'.
• 5% reservation was given to Muslim community in Andhra Pradesh. However, it was later canceled because this reservation was given without consulting the Backward Classes Commission.

Are there any conditions for giving reservation?

Supreme Court advocate and constitutional expert G Mohan Gopal said in a statement to the media, the most important thing is that every class that wants to take reservation has to fulfill certain conditions. To identify backward classes, the 'National Commission for Backward Classes' keeps certain things in mind.

Like are they looked down upon in society? How many of their children cannot go to school? Or how much is his family's wealth? If all this data is available and it is proved that the Muslim community fulfills these conditions, then they can get reservation as per the Constitution.

Some reports show that the Muslim community is socially, educationally and economically backward. For example, in a 2006 Sachar Committee report, it was said that the Muslim community as a whole is more backward than the Hindu-OBCs. In this report, different assistance programs were suggested for Muslims.  

On the basis of this report, the Kerala government formed a committee in 2008 which found that Muslims in Kerala were far behind other communities. Especially backward in social, economic and educational fields. The committee had recommended reservation for Muslims in government jobs and educational institutions.

How Muslim quota got canceled in Karnataka

Earlier in Karnataka, out of the 32 percent reservation for OBCs, a sub-category comprising 4% was reserved for Muslims. This quota was canceled by the BJP-led Basavaraj Bommai government in March, ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections in May 2023.

The then BJP government had distributed that 4% among influential Hindu castes like Vokkaliga and Lingayat. BJP said that giving reservation to an entire community on the basis of religion is constitutionally unacceptable. Muslims belonging to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) will continue to benefit from the quota.

Meaning, the then state BJP government took the decision that Muslims are no longer backward, hence they should not get the benefit of reservation. But experts say that this decision is wrong because Muslims were given reservation on the basis of their backward social and economic status and not just because of their religion.

In April 2023, some people challenged this decision of the Karnataka government in the Supreme Court. During the hearing, the Supreme Court said that this decision of the government, prima facie, seems to have been taken on a wrong and weak basis.

Then the Bommai government assured the court that this decision would not be implemented as long as the case was going on. After this, before the assembly elections, Congress in its manifesto promised to restore 4% reservation for the Muslim community. Congress got a big victory in the Karnataka assembly elections.

Now, a few days before the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in April 2024, National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) Chairman Hansraj Gangaram Ahir claimed that the Congress government is giving reservation to all Muslims from the OBC category on the basis of religion. NCBC sought answers from the state government on this. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah replied that the government has not made any new changes in the OBC reservation system.

Accusing NCBC of doing politics,

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hit back at the statement of the National Backward Classes Commission. He said that NCBC is doing politics by doing this. He said, "It seems as if the Congress government of Karnataka has given some new reservation for Muslims. This is completely false. In fact, reservation for Muslims in government jobs and education has been going on for a long time. 3 This system has been in place since March 1977 and has been proven correct by avoiding legal challenges." 

Generally people believe that this reservation for Muslims was started by HD Deve Gowda in 1995 during his government. At that time, a separate category named '2B' was created for Muslims under the OBC quota. Interestingly, today Deve Gowda's party JD(S) is included in the BJP-led NDA alliance in Karnataka. 

What objection does BJP have?

BJP is constantly attacking the Congress party on the issue of giving reservation to Muslims on the basis of religion. In election rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is saying that in Karnataka, Congress has declared all Muslims as OBC by giving them reservation from OBC quota.

Congress wants to implement reservation system in the entire country like Karnataka. Congress and its allies want to snatch the reservation rights of OBC and SC community and give them to a particular community.

Actually, BJP's objection is that reservation cannot be given to any religious community only on the basis of religion. BJP says that they are only refusing to give reservation to the entire community together and not to give reservation to Muslims. Because there is no provision for reservation on the basis of religion in the Constitution.

Court's decision on Muslim reservation:

The Supreme Court's decision regarding reservation for Muslims in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is yet to come. In 2005, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh had rejected the decision of the state government in which it had talked about giving 5% reservation to Muslims. The High Court had said that the government has not properly assessed the backwardness of Muslims and there are many shortcomings in their approach. After some time, in the year 2010, the state government implemented 4% reservation for certain Muslim sections. But, the court also canceled this saying that proper survey was not done before giving reservation. 

On the other hand, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had ruled in a 2004 case that Muslims as a group are entitled to the privileges given socially. Yes, this can happen only if they belong to the socially and educationally backward class. The court had also said that giving social reservation to the Muslim community or any particular section of them is not against secularism.

Can reservation be given on the basis of religion?

There is no provision for reservation on the basis of religion in the Constitution. Under Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, there will be no discrimination against anyone on the basis of religion, caste, colour, sex or place of birth and all people will get equal opportunities in government jobs. Meaning that reservation cannot be given to any community on the basis of religion. 

There are separate rights for minorities and backward communities in the Constitution. If any person of any religion comes under these rights then he can get reservation on the basis of minority or backwardness. But the Constitution does not have the right to give reservation to the entire community only on the basis of religion.

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