The Commission of Inquiry on Socio-Economic and Educational Conditions of Muslims in Telangana has recommended 12 per cent reservation or a minimum of 9 per cent to the community in social and educational sectors.
In its report submitted to the State government in August and placed on its website on Saturday, the four-member Commission led by G. Sudhir also recommended that the government should prepare a sub-plan for Muslims on the lines of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe Sub-Plans.
Stating that 85 per cent Muslims in the State were backward, the Commission made 12 key recommendations for immediate implementation in its 860-page report.
The panel led by the retired IAS officer suggested that the government could implement the reservation as it was done in Tamil Nadu and request the Centre to amend the Constitution to increase the extent of total reservation.
The Commission was set up in March 2015 with M.A. Bari, Abdul Shaban and Amir Ullah Khan, besides the Chairman. It went round the State to study the socio-economic conditions of Muslims.
Major recommendations of the Commission include setting up an equal opportunities commission to supervise appointments, training and development programmes; committee for implementation of diversity indicators as per the suggestions of Sachar and Kundu Committees.
The Commission on Muslims has further suggested the State government to approach the Supreme Court to re-examine the methodology developed by Indra Sawhney for establishing backwardness and recommending reservation to identified communities and to also appoint an experts panel on establishing the backwardness of Muslims in Telangana for the purpose of extending reservation.
Further, the Commission has recommended inclusion of some communities such as ‘Mehar’ in Muslims in Scheduled Castes for extending reservation; steps for filling vacancies of Urdu language teacher posts; effective measures for implementing Urdu as the second official language in the State; creating a start-up fund for small traders among Muslims; introduction of cashless system in scholarships on the lines of the system being implemented for SC, ST students.
Land distribution
In addition, the Commission recommended distribution of land to the landless Muslims in rural areas, extending the “own your auto” scheme to all the districts, setting up special commission for protection of Wakf properties and establishing new high schools and junior colleges for Muslim girls. It also felt the need for improving the share of Muslim women in government posts.
