The question of reservation for Muslims has once again become a polarising issue in the country, especially in Telangana. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly opposed reservation for Muslims. Days after he referred to Muslims as “ghuspeti (infiltrators)” and “those who produce many children,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared at a public meeting in Zaheerabad that reservation for Muslims, at the expense of reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), will never happen in his lifetime.
Reservation for Muslims has been a contentious issue ever since its introduction in undivided Andhra Pradesh by the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR)-led Congress government in 2004. Those who oppose such reservation argue that it is based on religion and therefore unconstitutional, while those who favour it say it is accorded on the basis of backwardness of Muslims.
Originally fixed at 5% in education and employment, reservation for Muslims was determined using Census data and was based on the community’s socioeconomic status. The Backward Classes Welfare Department, in addition to the existing categories of A, B, C, and D, created a fifth category, E, of socially and educationally backward Muslims to accommodate them. This category encompasses 14 communities such as Achchukattalavandlus, Attar Saibulus, Dhobi Muslims, Faqeers, Siddis, Hajjams (barber), and Shaiks. Vocational Muslim communities such as the Laddafs were already included in category B (vocational).
