The question of reservation for Muslims has once again become a polarising issue in the country, especially in Telangana. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly opposed reservation for Muslims. Days after he referred to Muslims as “ghuspeti (infiltrators)” and “those who produce many children,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared at a public meeting in Zaheerabad that reservation for Muslims, at the expense of reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), will never happen in his lifetime.
Reservation for Muslims has been a contentious issue ever since its introduction in undivided Andhra Pradesh by the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR)-led Congress government in 2004. Those who oppose such reservation argue that it is based on religion and therefore unconstitutional, while those who favour it say it is accorded on the basis of backwardness of Muslims.
Originally fixed at 5% in education and employment, reservation for Muslims was determined using Census data and was based on the community’s socioeconomic status. The Backward Classes Welfare Department, in addition to the existing categories of A, B, C, and D, created a fifth category, E, of socially and educationally backward Muslims to accommodate them. This category encompasses 14 communities such as Achchukattalavandlus, Attar Saibulus, Dhobi Muslims, Faqeers, Siddis, Hajjams (barber), and Shaiks. Vocational Muslim communities such as the Laddafs were already included in category B (vocational).
In 2005, the YSR government passed an ordinance which was later replaced by a law providing 5% reservation for Muslims, but this was struck down by the Andhra Pradesh High Court as unconstitutional. The State government appealed against the verdict in the Supreme Court and a Bench issued a stay on the High Court order.
Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) promised to increase the quota from 4% to 12%, in proportion to the State’s Muslim population (12.68%). The TRS constituted a Commission of Inquiry to study the socioeconomic conditions of Muslims. The Commission toured the districts of Telangana, interacted with the public, and gathered data and evidence from various sources, including the National Sample Survey Office, to make the case for increasing reservation for Muslims to 12%. Its report in 2016 also sought to evaluate the compatibility of these proposed reservations for Muslim communities and castes with the 11 criteria laid down in the Indra Sawhney case.
In 2017, the TRS passed a Bill to increase reservation for STs to 10% and Muslims to 12%. While this Bill received support from the Congress and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), it was opposed by the BJP. It was sent for the President’s Assent.
Over the years, the BJP has continued to criticise the promise of 12% reservation for Muslims and described it as unconstitutional, religion-based, and an attempt to indulge in vote bank politics. Last year, Home Minister Amit Shah said in Chevella that the “BJP government in the State will scrap all such unconstitutional reservations if voted to power in the next Assembly elections”. So, the party’s campaign against the issue in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls is not an isolated case.
Mr. Modi’s stance has invoked criticism from Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi. The AIMIM chief and his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi have contended that reservation for Muslims was accorded not on the basis of religion but backwardness. He has implied that the BJP and Mr. Modi are against the welfare of the community. Interestingly, the BJP’s ally, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is contesting both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, has batted for the continuation of reservation for Muslims.
This issue seeks to play to the gallery and create a sense of resentment among SCs, STs, and OBCs at the expense of Muslims. Muslims have been demonised these elections, as seen in various speeches and in the BJP4Karnataka’s recent post on X which has not been taken down and has garnered 8.9 million views so far. The post shows Muslims benefiting from reservation and dispossessing SCs, STs, and OBCs from a nest. It is imperative that political parties exercise restraint in their comments on the issue until the apex court delivers its verdict.
