10 January, 2006

My dear Bashirbhai,

It occurred to me that since Mrs. Sonia Gandhi is going to Hyderabad for the AICC Session and is likely to say there for 3-4 days, you may try to organize a representative Muslim Delegation to see her during her stay, perhaps with the help of the Chief Minister.

More than the data, what needs to be impressed on her that by any nationally accepted criteria of backwardness, the Muslim community of India, as a whole, constitutes a Backward Class, particularly in the states of its concentration like UP, Bihar, West Bengal, AP, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Assam.

Its level of backwardness places on par with but them just above the SC, as brought out by the NCAER and the Department of Statistics.  Their relative index of backwardness may be roughly taken as 80, with SC = 100.

If their population is 13.5% of the national population, Muslim Indians are entitled to a quota of 13.5 X 8 = 10.8% i.e. 11%.

The quota will naturally vary from state to state, depending upon its proportion in population and relative backwardness.

No doubt there are variations in educational and economic level among various sub-communities within the Community and in every state but every Backward Class has this pattern of variation. 

It can be mitigated largely by eliminating the Creamy Layer uniformly from the benefit of any quota and by extending the benefits of the community quota to those who come from the economically or educationally backward families.

A separate quota is essential for the Muslim community because it cannot compete with other OBC’s because of another basic disadvantage – it suffers from communal bias, which operates at every level, sometimes openly, sometime discreetly.  Reservation should apply not only in government employment but also in university education, in bank credit and in distribution of benefits of all welfare and development programmes which target individuals in the operational areas.

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

 (SYED SHAHABUDDIN)

Mr. Bashiruddin Babukhan, ex-Minister,

President,

Forum for Equity and Justice,

7th Floor, Babukhans’ Millennium Centre,

6-3-1099/1100, Somajiguda,

Hyderabad – 500 082 (AP).