By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: The national ruling party Congress might have thought the sub-quota move will win hearts of Muslims, but leave alone General Category Muslims (who are unreserved due to being Upper Castes and not going to benefit from this sub-quota anyway), even those Muslims who are already under OBC Category and whose chances to avail reservation will be brighter after the sub-quota, are not much upbeat.
Muslim caste leaders not much happy
Muslim caste leaders are not much happy for two reasons: The minority sub-quota of 4.5% within 27% OBC quota is much below the requirement and it is not according to the recommendations of Mandal Commission and Ranganath Mishra Commission; Their main and old demand was amendment in the Article 341 so that certain Muslim castes (who are similar to Scheduled Castes) could also come under the reserved Scheduled Castes Category.
“The sub-quota of 4.5% should have been at least 6% according to the Mandal Commission,” Ali Anwar Ansari, Rajya Sabha Member, and president of All India Muslim Pasmanda Mahaz told TCN.
“We are not much happy, as this was not our demand. What we have been demanding for long has been ignored by the Congress,” he adds. He says that Congress has done nothing on the demand of amendment in Article 341 to enlist Muslims also in the SC category.
Mr Ansari questions the intention of the Congress behind the sub-quota move. “The real intention of the Congress is to provoke infighting,” the Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar charges.
Zafar Imam Ansari, President of Momin Conference Bihar, though welcomes the move but says it is much below the recommendation of Ranganath Mishra Commission.
“The step is good that government has fixed share of Muslim OBCs in the 27% OBC quota. But this is far below the recommendation of the Mishra Commission which had recommended 8.4% for minorities including 6% exclusively for Muslims within the 27% OBC quota,” Zafar Imam Ansari said.
Mishra Commission’s formula for break-up of 27% OBC quota
Ranganath Mishra Commission had recommended 15% quota for minorities and out of which 10% for Muslims. This was beyond the 27% OBC quota. But the commission had also suggested an alternative as it had apprehended its main recommendation of 15% minority quota will face trouble though, in commission’s own words, “The action recommended as above will have full sanction of Article 16 (4) of the Constitution.”
The alternative recommendation of Mishra Commission was to fix share of minorities including Muslims within the 27% OBC quota. The Commission recommended 8.4% for minorities of which 6% for Muslims.
“As an alternative since according to the Mandal Commission Report, the Minorities constitute 8.4 percent of the total OBC population, in the 27 percent OBC quota, an 8.4 percent sub-quota should be earmarked for the Minorities with an internal break-up of 6 percent for the Muslims (commensurate with their 73 percent share in the total minority population at the national level) and 2.4 percent for the other minorities – with minor adjustments inter se in accordance with population of various Minorities in various States and UTs,” the Mishra Commission had recommended.
Will the sub-quota benefit OBC Muslims?
Though it is a low share, it will benefit Muslims of OBC category, says Zafar Imam Ansari. “This will benefit OBC Muslims as till now the lion’s share of 27% OBC quota was taken away by Hindu OBCs. Now there will be a fixed share of Muslims,” he told TCN.
But he also demanded amendment in the Article 341 to include Muslim SCs. He also demands reservation for all Muslims as Ranganath Mishra Commission has recommended.
Regarding the minority sub-quota of 4.5%, there seems some confusion. A section of media reported it as a minority quota while some others as a Muslim quota. When asked, Ali Anwar Ansari said: “It is a sub-quota for Muslims who are in the OBC category. I have talked to Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and he said this 4.5% is for Muslims.”