Bangalore: A debate has erupted in Karnataka over the issue of reservations for all Muslims, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticizing the Congress-led government's policies during his recent election rallies. The controversy centers around the inclusion of all Muslim communities in the state’s Other Backward Class (OBC) quota, aimed at providing benefits by categorizing them as socially and educationally backward.
The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has expressed concerns about irregularities in Karnataka's OBC reservation quota six months ago. The commission's investigation revealed that a significant number of Muslims were benefiting from reservations in government jobs and medical and engineering entrance exams. In postgraduate medical courses, approximately 150 out of 930 seats were allegedly reserved for Muslim category candidates, accounting for nearly 16% of the total seats. These reserved seats were not limited to Muslim backward castes but were open to all sections of the Muslim community. This has raised questions about the constitutional legitimacy of granting reservations to Muslims, as they are not explicitly covered under the reservation provisions of the Constitution.
Criticizing the Congress party, Dalit thinker Dilip Mandal argued that the party is attempting to undermine the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. Mandal contended that the inclusion of castes such as Syed, Sheikh, Pathan, and Mughal in the OBC category has disregarded the guidelines of the Mandal Commission. According to the commission, Muslims can only be considered OBC in two situations: if their ancestors were previously Hindu untouchables or if they belong to a Muslim caste with a similar caste profession as Hindu OBCs, such as dhobi, telis, dhimmar, nai, gujjar, kumhar, lohar, darzi, or carpenter. Most Muslims, including castes such as Syed, Sheikh, Pathan, and Mughal, do not meet these criteria.
In Bengal, NCBC chairman Hansraj Ahir highlighted similar issues regarding OBC reservations, where nearly 90% of the communities included in the OBC list were Muslim. During a visit to West Bengal on February 25, the commission discovered that the Mamata Banerjee-led government had included people who converted from Hinduism to Islam in the OBC list. In Bengal, 179 castes are included in the OBC list, of which 118 are Muslim, while only 61 are Hindu. This has raised concerns about the criteria used to categorize Muslims as OBC in India, especially given the claim that Islam does not support caste distinctions. There is also speculation that political parties are catering to Muslim communities as a vote bank, as seen in politicians' statements during election campaigns.
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