The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : `Declare Muslims backward for quota'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 29, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

`Declare Muslims backward for quota'

Special Correspondent

National workshop wants Centre, other States to emulate Andhra Pradesh

HYDERABAD: A two-day national workshop on Muslim reservation which concluded here on Sunday has demanded that the Central and State Governments declare Muslim community as "backward" for reservation in education and employment.

The workshop organised by the Confederation of Muslim Educational Institutions of South India and South India Council, congratulated the State Government for initiating 5 per cent reservation and urged the Centre and other State Governments to follow suit.

It also recommended that the Minority Commissions be given full-fledged statutory status and that a separate legislation be passed for protecting the Minorities Rights, enshrined under Article 30 (1) of the Constitution.

The workshop wanted the Central Government to appoint a commission to identify inadequate representation of Muslims and other Backward Classes in judiciary and make recommendations.

Quota within quota

Referring to reservation for Backward Classes, the workshop wanted a specific quota percentage for Muslims within the 27 per cent Central reservations and 30 per cent Tamil Nadu State Service Reservations.

It also supported the demand to include Muslim occupational groups engaged in occupations equivalent to other Hindu Scheduled Castes also in the list of Schedule Castes under the purview of Article 3 (41) in those States where the situation prevailed.

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