OPINION: Karnataka quota tweak fulfulls long-time plea of Pasmanda Muslims

The Karnataka government has transferred the 4 per cent reservation given to Muslims specifically to other reserved categories. It is being propagated in such a way that the reservation for Pasmanda Muslims has been abolished, which is not true. Let us examine the issue factually.

On the recommendation of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, the State government recently abolished the Category 2B (4%) meant exclusively for Muslims under OBC reservation and shifted it to the Muslims coming under Economically Weaker Section or EWS (10%). Gave. Moreover, it divided 4% quota of 2B category into two equal parts and distributed it among the other OBC categories 3A (now 2C) and 3B (now 2D).

However, while covering the news, most of the media - both mainstream and vernacular - ran their stories under the headlines similar to "Muslim reservation ends". This created a wrong perception about the move as incorrect information was spread among the people suggesting that reservation for all Muslims has been ended. But the fact is that reservation for the Pasmanda Muslims, the native lower caste Muslims who are marginalised within the community despite constituting almost 90% of their population, have been placed in OBC categories 1 (4%), 2A (15%) and ST (7%).

These Pasmanda Muslims are still eligible for the reservation and their quota is still intact. Hence, they will continue to get the benefit of 19% reservation for OBC and 7% for ST as before. The government has abolished only the 4% quota for 2B category (exclusively meant for Muslims, irrespective of their status within the community), the benefits of which till now were being grabbed by the influential ruling class Ashraf Muslims or elite upper caste Muslims in gross violation of the spirit of our Constitution and the concept of social justice.

Reservation in the name of religious identity is against the basic spirit of the Constitution. No religion is backward or Dalit. Its followers might be backward or Dalits, and they have been included in the reservation system. (Except SC reservation, Dalits of Christian and Muslim religion are still outside its purview.)

Asaduddin Owaisi, the head of the Muslim communal political party AIMIM which does the politics of Muslim discourse, and the Muslim religious communal organization Jamiatul Ulema have left no stone unturned to heat up the atmosphere by making it a communal issue. Jamiatul Ulema duly issued a press release spreading the illusion that there are 12 backward castes of Muslims in 2B. It even went to the extent of challenging this decision in the court.

It should be known that in the list of castes of Karnataka OBC reservation, the names of the castes are recorded in other categories, but in 2B only Muslim is written, the names and numbers of any particular caste or caste are not mentioned. It is also an irony that in the cast certificate made for 2B category, the name of the cast is written as Muslim, which is not correct because Muslim is a religious identity and not a caste identity. It appears that the influential Ashraf class had opened this back door in OBC reservation to serve its selfish interests by misleading the previous governments and intellectuals.

Due to this attitude of the media and leaders like Owaisi and Madani, a situation of confusion has arisen in the native Pasmanda society as well, that the Karnataka government has abolished reservation for the deprived Pasmandas too.

As far as the reservation of Pasmanda castes is concerned, most of these castes like Nut, Netua, Jogi, Kanjad, Bhant, Kasai, Kalal, Madari, Sikalgar, Beldar, Chapparband, Neershikar, Mansuri, Dudekala, Naddaf, etc continue to remain in OBC category 1 as before. Washermen, barbers, tailors, blacksmiths, gaddis, dyers, julohis (weavers), oilmen, etc continue to fall under category 2A while Siddi, Tadvi Bhil, Toda etc tribes have been allowed to remain in ST catagort. Had there been a list of the Muslims castes falling in category 2B of "Muslim only" reservation, the situation would have been clear.

Even if we assume that there were some Pasmanda castes in 2B, it is still unfair because the weaker backward castes could not compete with the stronger ruling class Ashraf castes in the same category. This was defeating the very purpose of the reservation scheme. It seems all the benefits of OBC category 2B reservation were all taken away by the Syeds, Pathans belonging to the Ashraf section in the name of Muslim reservations, which is contrary to the basic spirit of reservation. In such a situation, it seems it is appropriate for that the government, Backward Commission and social workers should try to identify the Pasmanda castes if have been left out of OBC reservation and include them in the appropriate categories of OBC reservation.

The Pasmanda movement has a clear belief that the upliftment of the indigenous Pasmanda society should be according to its social, educational and economic status, and not on the basis of its religious identity, "Muslim". That is why it has been a long-standing demand of the Pasmanda movement that by removing Paragraph 3 of Article 341, Pasmanda Dalits should also be included in the SC reservation. The powerful Ashraf castes should be taken out from the OBC reservation in the major States of South India like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala so that there is no hindrance in social justice in the Muslim society and only eligible castes of Muslims can get its benefits.

Whatever be the intention of the Government of Karnataka, this is a fulfillment of an old demand of the Pasmanda movement which should be welcomed. Like Karnataka, it would be more appropriate to adopt the Bihar model of OBC reservation in Kerala and Tamil Nadu by excluding the powerful ruling class Ashraf castes from OBC reservation. So that the deprived indigenous Pasmanda Muslims can get complete social justice and the foreign-origin Ashrafs can be stopped from taking undue advantage of the reservation system.