Enlisting Muslim OBCs in various states a must

A debate is needed on whether the ‘minority quota’ will deliver its promise of uplifting its intended target.

One of the grounds on whi­ch the And­hra Pradesh High Court struck down the 4.5 per cent minority quota was that it was based on religion. It is true that religion is one of the markers that define minorities in India.

However, in this case, it was the minorities within the OBCs (Other Backward Classes) as defined by the Mandal Commission who were the target of affirmative action. Religion, therefore, is not just a conceptual category but also an empirical category which is enmeshed with other categories such as caste and class.

In treating religion only as a conceptual category, the High Court has not taken into consideration the contextual specificity in which religion exists in India. The 1950 Presidential Order debars Muslims and Christian dalits from being categorised as Scheduled Castes expressly on the grounds of religion.

If we compare this presidential order with the recent high court judgment, then it becomes disturbingly clear that religion can be invoked to exclude marginal sections from the ambit of reservation but it cannot, in the wisdom of the judiciary, become the basis of inclusion. This is baffling to say the least.

The judgment will most probably be challenged. But beyond the legal arguments, there is a need to debate whether the ‘minority quota’ will deliver its promise of uplifting its intended target. To put the minority quota issue into context, it must be mentioned that none of the minority OBC groups ever articulated the demand for a separate quota.

The minority sub-quota was, therefore, an agenda of the Congress party on the eve of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections with an eye on the Muslim vote. While the sub-quota was for minorities, the Congress paraded it as Muslim sub-quota. That its electoral strategy fell apart is another story, but the image of the sub-quota as specifically benefiting Muslims somehow stuck. 

At the outset it should be clear that it is not a quota specific to Muslims. There are OBC groups within Sikhs and Christians having much better socio-educational indices as compared to Muslim OBCs. How much this sub-quota would have benefited the Muslims is anybody’s guess.

The carving out of the 4.5 per cent sub-quota was also a sinister move on the part of the Congress to polarize the OBC votes along communal lines. It needs to be stressed here that the lower castes in India, through years of struggle have today come to a situation where their representation has started becoming visible.

Over the last decade or so, there has been political articulation of Muslims along caste lines. This articulation has sought to build bridges with like minded struggles within other communities with slogans like Dalit Pichda Ek Samaan, Hindu Ho Ya Musalman.

This is a new Muslim politics, presaged on the negation of the older style of Muslim politics which always harped on religious identity. The new low caste Muslim politics challenges the secular-communal divide by building solidarities of caste oppression across communities. This politics is dangerous for many in the Congress and the BJP who have made their political fortunes precisely by playing the secular-communal card.

It is unfortunate but true that even the dominant OBC parties such as the SP in Uttar Pradesh have also been playing the same politics by demanding reservation for all Muslims. The introduction of the 4.5 per cent sub-quota was, thus, not so much about uplifting the Muslims, but to break the solidarity between the Muslim and Hindu OBCs.   
     
There is a compelling case to address the problem of gross under-representation faced by Muslim OBC groups. The Sachar Committee report has described that the situation of Muslim OBCs is in many ways comparable to dalits. Within the ambit of 27 per cent reservation, it is only a few dominant castes that corner the major share of the pie. However, creating a sub-quota will not be in the best interest of the deprived OBC Muslims, rather politically it will be harmful for them in the long run.

If politicians like Salman Khurshid really feel for the plight of these Muslims, let them first start a movement of enlisting Muslim OBCs in various states. Does he know that there are a number of Muslim low caste groups in UP who have been left out of the purview of affirmative action simply because they do not figure on the OBC list?

The second measure that he might think of is of bifurcating the Central OBC list into OBC and Most Backward Class (MBC) as suggested by Justice Sachar. Given their pitiable condition, the Muslim OBCs will definitely find their names on the MBC list and will have a more level playing field. This might be a task which no political party will be willing to take as it will upset their pet electoral strategy of playing the secular-communal card. 

(The writer is Asst. professor with Jamia Millia Islamia Central University, who has researched on issues of Muslim education, identity and politics.)

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