Five per cent reservation to Muslims in Andhra Pradesh – using or abusing minorities?
Preetam Sohani
Jul. 9, 2005

The UPA Government in India is showing all techniques of using and hence abusing the minorities of India. The 5% job quota created for the people of Muslim religion will fetch votes no doubt for Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy but will this really help the Muslims? Job quotas just make a community of people of a religious faith less self-sufficient and dependent on this kind of social preferences. Eventually many from that community tend to become public nuisance.

According to media sources, Andhra Pradesh has become the first state to categorize Muslims among backward classes and provide five per cent reservation to them in government jobs and educational institutions.

However, the move has triggered a political storm and hit a legal hurdle with the opposition BJP and other Sangh Parivar organizations raising objection to "religion-based reservations" and warning that it could lead to "communal tensions".

While the BJP termed the decision as "yet another reflection of vote bank politics and appeasement of minorities," ruling Congress said it has fulfilled one of its key poll promises and the move would go a long way in addressing the socio-economic problems faced by the minorities.

"It is clear that Muslims are lagging behind socially, economically and educationally. Providing reservations is the surest way to ensure justice," the Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy said.

Overcoming an initial legal setback, the Congress government has finally come out with quota system for Muslims who constitute 9.2 per cent of the state's total population of 7.5 crore. However, the creamy layer among Muslims, with an annual income above Rs 2.5 lakh, will be excluded from the purview of reservations.

The state cabinet had last month approved a report of the Backward Classes Commission which had recommended inclusion of Muslims in the list of Backward Classes by creating a separate category and providing five per cent reservation in jobs and education.

Muslims in Andhra Pradesh will now be treated as BCE category for the purpose of reservations in employment and admissions into educational institutions. With this, the total percentage of reservations in the state has gone up to 51, exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling suggested by the Supreme Court.

The Congress government, however, justified the quota exceeding 50 per cent on the ground that scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes and Muslims together accounted for 77 per cent of the state's population and deserved affirmative action by way of 51 per cent reservation.

"The apex court had allowed reservations beyond 50 per cent ceiling in case of extraordinary circumstances which exist in the state," the Chief Minister said.

The quota move has set off fears of possible dilution of existing reservations for Backward Classes. The Chief Minister, however, said the existing 25 per cent reservation for Backward Classes, who constitute 45 per cent of the state's population, would not be reduced.

As per 1991 census, there were 64 lakh Muslims in the state. According to a survey conducted by the state Minorities Commission, about 65 per cent of Muslims were living below poverty line with a literacy rate of only 18 per cent as against 44 per cent among other communities.

In tune with its pre-poll promise, the Congress government had in July last year issued an order providing for reservations for Muslims based on a status report prepared by the Commission for Minorities Welfare.

Subsequently, the government constituted BC Commission, headed by justice Subrahmanyam, in December last year. The Commission, in its report submitted to the Chief Minister last month, made out a strong case for including Muslims in the list of backward classes.

Pointing out that the participation of Muslims at every level of education was very low compared to other communities, the Commission concluded that Muslims were socially and economically backward and fully deserved affirmative action from the government.

"Compared to general population, unemployment among Muslims is much higher, their share in salaried employment is much lower and their ownership of land is marginal. Their access to school and higher education is limited and malnutrition is rampant," the Commission said.

MORE ARTICLES >>