Post Sachar Reservation Politics

REASON FOR BEING IN NEWS

Growing demand to create 4.5% sub-quota for Muslims under backward classes. On 5th March, 2013, Jaimat Ulama-i-Hind held march to press for reservations for the Muslim community.

INTRODUCTION                                                     

Reservation is always seen as a tool to reduce social inequality amongst various religious Indian communities. A 27% quota for OBC encompasses such a large amount of population that there is an increasing demand for a special sub-quota for different communities.Though a welcome measure, it is still plagued with politicization

SACHAR COMMITTEE REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

Sachar Reservation Politics committee report is prominently identified for diagnosing the problem of Muslims. It had submitted its final report on November 16,2006.

Main Recommendations:

• Recognize degrees from madarasas for eligibility in defence, civil and banking examinations.
• Increase employment share of Muslims, particularly where there is great deal of public dealing. Work out mechanisms to link madarsas with higher secondary school board.
• Establish a delimitation procedure that does not reserve constituencies with high minority population for SCs.
• Create a nomination procedure to increase participation of minorities in public bodies.
• Set up an Equal Opportunity Commission to look into grievances of deprived groups like minorities.

It gave its recommendations at two levels: 1. General Level 2. Specific policy measures.

General Level Policy Measures:

1. Need for transparency, Accountability
2. Ensure equal Opportunities, End Discrimination
3. Enhance Muslim Participation in Governance
4. Give Incentives for Diversity
5. Facilitate Creation of Common Public Spaces
6. Sensitize government servants

Specific Policy Measures:

1. Give education top priority
2. Initiatives for Higher Education
3. Provide hostels/boarding houses, especially for girls
4. Teacher training programme
5. Support Urdu language 6. Link Madarsas to Mainstream Education
7. Ensure More Access to Credit and Government Schemes

RANGANATH MISHRA COMMISSION

It is mainly known for recommending measures for improving socioeconomic conditions of minorities. Had constituted on October 29,2004 by the Government of India.

Main Recommendations:

1. Educational:

• Selected institutions in the country like the Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Millia Islamia should be legally given a special responsibility to promote education at all levels to Muslim students by taking all possible steps for this purpose.
• The Madrassa Modernisation Scheme of the government should be suitably revised, strengthened and provided with more funds so that it can provide finances and necessary paraphernalia.

2. For Linguistic Minorities:

• The law relating to the linguistic minorities commissioner should be amended so as to make this office responsible for ensuring full implementation of all the relevant constitutional provisions for the benefit of each such minority in all the states and union territories.
• The three-language formula should be implemented everywhere in the country , making it compulsory for the authorities to include in it the mother tongue of every child – including, especially , Urdu and Punjabi – and all necessary facilities, financial and logistic, should be provided by the state for education in accordance with this dispensation.

3. Economic Measures

• As many minority groups specialise in certain household and small-scale industries, an effective mechanism should be adopted to work for the development and modernisation of all such industries
• Special schemes should be formulated for the promotion and development of agriculture, agronomy and agricultural trade among them.

BURNING POINTS OF THIS ISSUE

• Muslim is the largest community amongst minorities.
• But comparatively it is socially and economically backward with respect to forward minority communities like Christians and Sikhs.
• In 2011, government cabinet approved in a hurry the 4.5% subquota for minorities within existing reservation of 27% for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
• Many Muslim communities feel the sub-quota to be inadequate considering the poor condition of Muslims.
• With 4.5% reservations Muslims will now have to compete with forward minority communities like Christians and Sikhs.
• Courts in its decision has discarded cabinet decision of introducing 4.5% sub-quota stating that it is not based on empirical data.

KEY ISSUE

• No guidelines have been given out by government that to who will constitute this 4.5 % sub-quota amongst Muslims ?
• Muslims have a lot stratification in terms of class income.
• So there is a possibility of taking benefits of this sub-quota by the upper echelon of Muslim community particularly the Asharaf castes.
• Government engaging in piecemeal process of democratization (i.e. giving a peace to a particular community when it protests).
• According to Ministry of Minority Affairs (MMA), the central allocation of 0.79% of total budget is insignificant.
• Muslim OBCs are neither getting a sub-quota within the 27% OBCs reservation, nor are the schemes meant for poor Muslims (including Ashrafs) being implemented properly.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ?

• Government must stop being ambiguous and implement Sachar Committee report in totality.
• Separate sub-quota for Muslim OBC’s should be made.
• Declare Presidential Order (1950) null and void and bring dalit Muslims into the scheduled castes category.