The Andhra Pradesh High Court’s decision to strike down the four per cent reservation provided by the State government to selected sections of Muslims in education and employment is laudable. When we call our country secular, how can we provide reservation on the basis of religion? As rightly pointed out by the court, religion-based reservation will encourage religious conversions. Reservation was seen as an instrument of ushering in social equality. But how long can it continue?
Sarangan Ramaswamy, Bangalore
The High Court order is a severe blow to the reservation policy and against the spirit of the Constitution. Muslims are eligible for reservation because of their backwardness, not on the ground of religion. The Sachar Committee report clearly established that Muslims are among the most backward and the Ranganath Misra Commission prescribed the remedy by recommending a 10 per cent reservation for them in education and employment.
It is a national responsibility to deliver justice to Muslims. As reservation for the disadvantaged groups continues to be a historical requisite, there is an urgent need to reassess the concept of backwardness and broaden it beyond caste.
T. Marx, Puducherry
The Muslim community has become a victim of the “appeasement bogey” without getting any concrete benefits. It is marginalised and under-represented in almost all sectors of the economy. Reservation for Muslims is necessary. But the quantum should be at least 15 per cent to make up for the gross under-representation all these years. This can be provided to the most economically backward among the community.
Mohammed Sadullah Khan, Riyadh
A decision on reservation for Muslims should be taken at the national level. It is not for the States to enact laws to suit their political games. While backwardness among Muslims has been well researched and acknowledged by economists and educationists, there is no political will to uplift them. It is true that religion-specific reservation is not a solution to economic backwardness but it has also not been proved that reservation encourages religious conversions.
C.J. Shah Jahan, Chennai
The High Court verdict on quota for Muslims should act as an eye-opener to governments that think of vote banks alone. It is true that the Muslim community deserves and requires support to overcome its backwardness. But the issue should be addressed within the framework of the Constitution. The much-hurried decision of the West Bengal government to provide a 10 per cent quota in jobs for the weaker sections among Muslims may also fail legal scrutiny. Political parties should stop treating Muslims as a vote bank.
C.P. Velayudhan Nair, Kochi
Reservation on the basis of caste and religion has become a major stumbling block to development as it creates divisions among the various sections of society. It is unfortunate that the economic criterion is not being considered even though the Supreme Court has laid down what constitutes the creamy layer. There are many who are extremely poor among the forward classes and very rich among the reserved categories. As long as our politicians follow vote bank politics, mutual distrust and hate will continue to exist among different sections.
J.P. Reddy, Nalgonda
Since reservation on the basis of religion is against the letter and spirit of the Constitution, the West Bengal government’s decision to grant a reservation of 10 per cent for Muslims is also likely to meet the same fate as the Andhra Pradesh Act. The only way reservation can be made on the basis of religion is through an amendment to the Constitution. Until such time, all laws are nothing but devious tactics to gain undue political mileage.
Seshagiri Row Karry, Hyderabad
