- State Minorities Commission has made a representation to the Telangana State Backward Classes Commission pushing the case for a 12 percent quota for Muslims, an additional 8 percent over the existing 4 percent.
- If the government clears the 12 percent reservation, the existing 4 percent will be superseeded and a fresh GO will be issued.
The State Minorities Commission (SMC) on Thursday made a representation to the Telangana State Backward Classes Commission (TSBCC) pushing the case for a 12 percent quota for Muslims, an additional 8 percent over the existing 4 percent.
Explaining the rationale behind the demand, SMC chairman Abid Rasool Khan said, “If the government clears the 12 percent reservation, the existing 4 percent will be superseeded and a fresh GO will be issued. If its challenged in court, the existing 4 percent will be in danger. It is important to protect the existing quota. Therefore, we has asked reservations in the 4%+8% format, resulting in an aggregate of 12 percent.”
In the petition the minorities panel reiterated that quotas have been challenged in courts of law and it has resulted in them being “set aside”. The commission reiterated that while the existing 4 percent reservations for Muslims cover 14 communities -which include Attar Saibulu, Turaka Kasha, Dhobi, Labbi, Garadi Muslim and Hajam -it excludes backward sections from other Muslim communities. “There are many Khans and Syeds who are socio-economically weak. We have requested the commission to consider their case as well,” Khan said.
It was on December 14 that the TSBCC began a hearing on a separate quota for Muslims. It received more that 13,000 petitions from various Muslim social and religious groups. Many of them had requested the commission to tour districts of the state so as to understand the socio-economic conditions of Muslims.Political parties such as the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Congress and the Majlis Bachao Tehreek to made their representations.
According to development economist Amirullah Khan, a member of the Post Sachar Evaluation Committee (PSEC), the Sachar Committee Report, released in 2006, does not specifically push the case for reservations for Muslims but implies that it is one of the several forward. “The PSEC pegs the number of Muslim graduates across the country at around 2 percent. It also says that Muslim community has the highest level of drop-outs at the secondary school level,” he opined. Khan is also a member of the G Sudhir Committee.
Courtesy: Times of India
