Understanding how Muslims get reservations in India Premium

What have been the various efforts to grant reservation to Muslims in India, especially in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh? The Hindu explores.

Addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Tonk-Sawai Madhopur Lok Sabha constituency, which votes on April 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Congress has tried to reduce the reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and give it to Muslims in defiance of the Constitution. He made a specific reference to the attempts made by the Congress government to provide a 5% quota for Muslims in Andhra Pradesh saying that it was a “pilot project” that it wanted to implement for the entire country.

He further pointed out that the BJP government, when elected in Karnataka, abolished the Muslim reservation in March last year, a reservation which he alleged “was created by snatching it from STs/SCs.” This is however not the first time that the BJP has articulated its stance on the Muslim quota. Last year in June, while addressing a rally in Maharashtra, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that “reservation for the Muslim community is against the Constitution.”

Several Muslim communities are entitled to the OBC reservation at the central and State levels. This stems from Article 16(4) of the Constitution, which guarantees reservations for a “backward class of citizens, which in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.” The third Backward Class Commission headed by Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy in its report categorised Muslims as “educationally and socially backward” and further concluded that the economic plight of Muslims is close to that of the SCs in many educational parameters. Accordingly, it recommended exclusive educational reservation for Muslims under Article 15 (4) of the Constitution. In 2006, the Justice Sachar Committee report arrived at similar conclusions.

Importantly, OBC reservations exclude the “creamy layer” (₹8 lakh annual income or more) — members of backward classes who are better off socially, educationally or economically. This means socially progressive and affluent Muslims are not entitled to this benefit. The quota also differs from State to State.

In Kerala, out of the 30% OBC quota, Muslims are entitled to 8% in educational institutions and 10% in government jobs. Tamil Nadu provides reservations to close to 95% of its Muslim communities. In Bihar, where OBCs have been divided into backward and most backward classes, Muslims fall into the latter category.

In Karnataka, out of the 32% reservation for OBCs, a sub-category comprising 4% was reserved for Muslims. However, the BJP-led Basavaraj Bommai government quashed the quota last year and redistributed it among dominant Hindu castes such as the Vokkaligas and Lingayats before the Assembly elections in May. It defended its move, saying that the grant of reservation to an entire community based on religion is constitutionally impermissible and that Muslims would continue to benefit from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota.

However, in an earlier interview with The Hindu, experts flagged the revocation as legally untenable. Political scientist Muzzafar Assadi pointed out that Muslims were categorised as a backward class and not given reservations based on religion. “Muslims were included in the OBC list based on a study of their socio-economic conditions and recommendations by the .G. Havanur and Chinnappa Reddy Commissions. This has been further confirmed by the Sachar Committee Report. On what basis did the State government decide that Muslims were no longer “backward” and they were to be considered a “forward” community?” he asked.