By IANS
Chennai : The Tamil Nadu government has cleared the decks to promulgate an ordinance to introduce reservations for Christians and Muslims of backward caste denominations to the extent of 3.5 percent each from Sep 14, Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi announced here Thursday.
But the catch is that these reservations will be part of the existing 30 percent quota set apart for Backward Castes (BC) – thus gingerly avoiding the pitfall of hurting the sentiments of Most Backward Castes (MBC) – which are the constituencies of caste-based outfits like PMK.
Tamil Nadu has the highest reservation quota of 69 percent, comprising 30 percent for BCs, 20 percent for MBCs and denotified communities (DCs), 18 percent for the scheduled castes and one percent for the scheduled tribes.
This arrangement has been questioned by the Supreme Court on the basis of its judgement in the 1992 Indira Sawhney vs Union of India case (better known as the Mandal Commission case) where the judges ruled that the aggregate of reservations could not cross 50 percent.
The Christian and Muslim reservation will mean that it will eat into the “Hindu” BC quota and reduce it by seven percent, thereby alienating a vast swathe of the caste conscious Tamil Nadu.
On the flip side, the government has contrived to create an exclusive reservation for minorities without actually doing so since it has an inbuilt caste component. This saves the government of the grim possibility of facing legal flak.
Justifying his government’s move, Karunanidhi cited the fact that reservations for Muslims and Christians was a major poll promise of the DMK during the run-up to the 2006 assembly elections, and also that announcements were made during the last budget indicating legal provisions would be made to give the promise a concrete shape.
Last year the state’s Backward Classes Commission, headed by a retired judge, Justice M.S. Janarthanam, examined the issue on the basis of its own report prepared by J.A. Ambashankar 25 years ago. Justice Janarthanam had recommended the possibility of extending separate quotas to religious minorities on the basis of caste denominations.
The Christian groups that are part of the long 142-entry BC list encompass converts from the BCs and the Scheduled Castes regardless of the generation of their conversion. The sole exception is the fishermen’s community, which has a concentration of MBCs. The government’s list includes Roman Catholics and Protestants belonging to various caste denominations.
The Muslims communities covered under this 3.5 percent sub-quota are Lebbais, Marakkayars, Moplahs, Sheikhs and Sayyids (those who trace their lineage to Prophet Mohammad). No differentiation has been made between Tamil or Urdu speaking Muslims.