The Muslim Reservation Debate

The Muslim Reservation Debate


As several government-appointed teams--the Sachar Committee and the Ranganath Mishra Commission being the two most prominent among them--have themselves pointed out, India's Muslims, the country's largest minority, are, on various socio-economic indices, at the lowest rung of Indian society. Among the Muslims, the conditions of groups of 'low' caste background, who account for more than eighty percent of the Muslim population, are particularly pathetic. Neglect, and even discrimination, by the state, is one of the factors for this state of affairs. Given this, the rationale for positive discrimination or affirmative action by the state in favour of Dalit and OBC Muslims should be obvious.

Lamentably, however, this proposal has met with stiff opposition. America is today the model for India's elites to blindly follow, but while seeking to ape everything American it is curious why and how our ruling caste-class combine turns a blind eye to the American state's affirmative action policies for its minorities. And not just that. It relentlessly opposes any policy, no matter how symbolic, in favour of the marginalised sections of Indian society, including the country's almost 200 million Muslims.

One argument against affirmative action for Muslims is that the Constitution does not allow for reservations on the basis of religion. If that is the case, one might counter, why is it that, till recently, only Dalits who professed to be Hindus could avail of Scheduled Caste reservation benefits? Such benefits were later extended to include Dalit Sikhs and Dalit Buddhists, but Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians continue to be denied the same status and accompanying benefits. Is this not reservation, and discrimination, by the state on the basis of religion?

In this regard, the demand by some 'upper' caste Muslim politicians and Islamic organisations for reservations for Muslims as a whole is equally dubious. As numerous 'low' caste Muslim activists point out, this demand, if acceded to, would benefit only 'upper' caste Muslims, who are educationally and politically much stronger than Dalit and OBC Muslims. They forcefully critique the argument that affirmative action for Dalit and OBC Muslims, instead of for Muslims as a whole, would divide the Muslims, equating it as equally specious as the argument of ardent anti-reservationists who believe that any sort of affirmative action for any marginalised group is divisive and, therefore, 'anti-national'.

An oft-heard argument against affirmative action for OBC Muslims is that they do not need a separate quota as they are already covered by the existing OBC quota. The fct of the matter, however, is that OBC Muslims continue to lag far behind OBC Hindus, who, being numerically, politically and economically much more powerful, have garnered the lion's share of the benefits set apart by the state for OBCs, leaving precious little for their Muslim counterparts. Widespread anti-Muslim discrimination within the state apparatus has made it even more difficult for Muslim OBCs to benefit from the existing provisions for OBCs. Hence, the need for separate provision for Muslim OBCs.

As the relentless waves of privatisation, 'liberalisation' and 'globalisation' overwhelm the Indian economy, scores of traditional caste-based occupations--such as pottery, tanning, weaving, metal-work and so on, in which Muslim Dalits and OBCs were heavily over-represented, are being ruthlessly decimated, rendering millions of families destitute. In such a scenario, the need for affirmative action for Muslim Dalits and OBCs, as indeed for other such marginalised groups, becomes even more imperative. This should not be restricted simply to jobs in a rapidly shrinking public sector, but should also include adequate and proportional representation in educational institutions, elected bodies and in budgetary allocation for developmental projects and infrastructural development.

Alienation, demonisation and violence against vulnerable groups have, as the historical experience globally suggests, been a principal cause for resentment on the part of such groups that can sometimes even take overtly violent forms. Hence, from the point of view of the good of the larger society itself--and not just of that of marginalised groups alone--it is essential that the state undertake adequate measures to promote genuine inclusion and empowerment of these sections of society. The welfare of the entire society crucially depends on this--and this applies with equal validity to the Indian Muslim case--particularly with regard to the Dalits andOBCs among them.