Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had so far repeatedly been reiterating two things about reservations – one, that the 50 percent ceiling imposed by the Supreme Court will be removed and second, he has always been suggesting reservation for the minorities - read Muslims.
The Congress government in Karnataka has started by reserving four percent contracts for various government tenders for Muslims. This is unprecedented and has been done for the first time in the country. Reservations are normally provided for jobs or education.
Gandhi, during his speeches prior to and after the Lok Sabha elections, has been insisting that the minorities, along with other marginalised communities, like the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes, have been completely left out of India’s progress. He counts them to be about 90 percent of the population. According to him, there are 50 percent OBCs, 15 percent SCs, 8 percent STs and 15 percent minorities.
He argues that each caste/ minority should get reservation according to its population proportion. In this context, he has promised to abolish the 50 percent ceiling on reservations in force right now. According to his reservation policy, the minorities will get 15 percent reservation. While the minorities include Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and a few other small sects, his primary focus has been on Muslims.
Karnataka government’s decision to reserve 4 percent contracts for Muslims carries a larger message meant for the community across the country.
Congress has been desperately trying to win back the Muslims, who have mostly drifted towards regional parties like the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar, Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and so on.
While TMC has been in power in West Bengal for about three terms now, it has not provided any sort of reservations to Muslims so far. Nor did the SP in UP or the RJD in Bihar provide any reservations to Muslims, despite having been in power several times and having an undisputed and uninterrupted hold over the Muslim votes.
The Congress would like to present Karnataka as a model for the party’s commitment towards Muslims. It is still debatable whether reservation based on religion will withstand the scrutiny of the law, but the party has already made a point that it can go to any extent to provide reservation to Muslims as promised by its leader Rahul Gandhi.
The constitution does not provide for reservation on the basis of religion. This is because religious-based reservations introduced by the British eventually led to the partition of the country along communal lines.
Bihar is going to polls this year. The state has about 18 percent Muslim population, with several constituencies having as much as 50 percent Muslim population. While the Congress will fight election in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which claims its exclusive right over the Muslim votes, Congress’ Karnataka announcement is likely to have an impact there.
Also read: What is the 1798 Alien Enemies Act that Trump has invoked
The RJD may not be very comfortable with the Karnataka decision of the Congress as it can pose a challenge to its exclusive claims over the Muslim votes. It will also try to do something to show its special commitment towards Muslims. Congress will definitely get an advantage with Karnataka announcement.
The Congress may have ended up opening the proverbial Pandora's box. Now, other political parties like the SP, the RJD and the TMC may take similar measures, lest they lose their exclusive hold on Muslim votes, which may get drifted towards the Congress.
The reservation will not be restricted to government contracts. Muslims have been claiming social, economic, educational and political backwardness for a long time. They are likely to stake claim for reservation in other spheres as well.
Imagine, the demand extending to “political reservation” in federal and provincial legislatures, similar to what is provided to the SCs and STs currently.
While the overall Muslim population percentage in India is about 14 percent, in some states like West Bengal it is as high as 27 percent. And in most of the places, the community votes en bloc for one particular party like TMC in West Bengal, RJD in Bihar and SP in UP.
While the SP and the RJD are the Congress allies, TMC shares common hostility against the BJP with the Congress. These three parties are likely to take the cue from the Congress on Muslim reservation.
It will not be surprising if in coming days, there is a race in announcing and providing reservation to Muslims in jobs and education, besides government contracts. And it is not going to end there.
Follow us
