Muslim Reservation under OBC scrapped by the BJP government of Karnataka. On March 30, the BJP government in Karnataka announced a cabinet decision to eliminate the 4% Muslim OBC quota, which had been allocated to the two most powerful communities in the state, the Lingayats and Vokkaligas. Muslims have been considered a backward class in Karnataka for more than 100 years. Following closely behind, the government granted 101 Scheduled Castes (SC) internal reservations. Both of these choices have been the subject of heated political discussion. The state has become one of the most communally polarised in India due to the policies of the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government, particularly the most recent official statement regarding the updated reservation formula.
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Why did the BJP make this decision?
The BJP was under pressure since the community led by Kudalasangama Seer Sri Jayamruthyunjaya Swami has been fighting for 2A status in the OBC list for the community for two years. The community derives strength from the numerically significant Panchamasalis, a sub-sect among Veerashaiva-Lingayats. The decision was made well before the Vokkaligas exerted any significant pressure on the BJP, which is trying to take over the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysore region.
An allegedly pre-dated government order regarding the transfer of category was published two days after the announcement of the elections and the rationale provided for this new reservation formula is blatantly communal, defying even the ‘neutral’ language of administration, reports The Wire.
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Double-faced Politics of the BJP
In order to demonstrate its commitment to secularism, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been reaching out to Pasmanda (Backward) Muslims in North India. However, in the southern state of Karnataka, the same BJP has transerred socially and educationally backward Muslims from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category of society to the forward caste grouping, known as the Economically Weak Section (EWS). This clearly shows the double-faced politics of the BJP in India.
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The Justification of the BJP Government
The BJP has used a 2010 ruling by the Andhra Pradesh High Court as a justification, which declared reservations for Muslims under the OBC quota as illegal, to support the withdrawal of the OBC quota for Muslims (Category II B). It has been maintained that the 1994 decision by the H. D. Deve Gowda administration to include Muslims in the OBC category was not supported by any factual facts.
No new reports or studies were cited for the change in the OBC status of Muslims. Chief Minister Bommai and Union Home Minister Amit Shah only said there is no provision in the Constitution for reservations for religious minorities reports The Indian Express.
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Rallies organized by the Muslims
In the meantime, rallies were organised by the Muslim community in Karnataka in areas like Vijayanagara, calling for the reinstatement of the reservation that had been granted to them under the “2B” category after Muslim Reservation under OBC scrapped by the BJP government. JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy took aim at the BJP administration on Monday, claiming that it planned to abolish the reservation in order to incite animosity between Muslims and Hindus and to gain electoral advantage. “The objective behind the decision is the policy of divide and rule employed by the BJP. They think that if Muslims hit the streets (to protest), they will benefit from it. Fortunately, Muslims have remained peaceful,” he said.
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Communities are Protesting the BJP-led Policy
On Monday (March 27), a large protest organised by the Banjara, Bhovi, Koracha, and Korama communities in Shivamogga district, Karnataka, descended into violence when people started throwing stones at former chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s home. Banjara leader Sharda Pooryanaik, a former Shivamogga Rural (SC) JD(S) MLA, said in a media interview that “The government should have held consultations with various caste groups before bringing the changes…There have been demands for a proper caste census to arrive at the quota requirements.”
The Banjara community, a Scheduled Tribe in Karnataka but also on the list of Scheduled Tribes in bordering states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, was at the forefront of the protest on Monday. The Banjaras, who are part of the group that has been given a 4.5 percent quota, are displeased with the government because they “were earlier able to corner a large chunk of the Dalit quota due to their enterprising nature, and now fear their share will be restricted to only 4.5 percent of the total,” The Indian Express reported. This is according to the leaders of the most backward SC groups in the Shivamogga region, where the demonstrations took place after reservation under OBC got scrapped by the BJP government
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Agitations criticized by the BJP
The agitations have been criticised by BJP officials, who claim that the Congress is behind it. Local Congress leaders have incited [the demonstration], according to CM Bommai. They are inciting violence because they cannot stand that the BJP has brought social justice to these communities. The Banjara community must resist giving in to this. The BJP has always stood up for the neighborhood and will do so in the future.
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