“Among Muslims in Gujarat, there are 70 groups, who are OBC. When I was in Gujarat, they used to get benefits in the OBC category “
– Narendra Modi on February 9, 2022
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been on a hate-speech spree since his outing in Rajasthan’s Banswada, first on “redistribution”, telling those assembled that their “mangalsutras” and few resources “hidden in bajra cans” will be taken away by the Congress and “redistributed” to “Musalmaan” or “those who have more children,” and who are “infiltrators”.
But subsequently, when a distinct impression gained momentum that the BJP wants “400 seats” to scrap reservations, the party has stopped using the slogan and also tried to cap its several leaders from saying they want to change the Constitution. Modi’s speeches too have taken to spreading a different kind of misinformation about the Congress manifesto. He and other top leaders of the BJP are officially saying that the Congress wants to “take away reservation from SC/ST/OBCs” and “give it to Muslims.”
But even this has political costs for the BJP, ruling with a majority for ten years now.
Any hopes that Modi and the BJP had with the talk of “Muslim outreach,” emphasised by the party, particularly focusing on ‘triple talaq’ as a means to dilute Muslim concerns to take away the edge from sections of the population that are determined to oppose the BJP, would have vanished after the spree of open Islamophobia.
But there are three aspects on which the reservation talk on Muslims is backfiring and embarrassing the BJP.
Firstly, Modi himself has been keen to take credit for providing reservation for backward Muslims. In an interview to ANI two years ago, he applauded himself forgiving them benefits. He had said: “Among Muslims in Gujarat, there are 70 groups, who are OBC. When I was in Gujarat, they used to get benefits in the OBC category.” (Watch the video at 28:40). All allegations against the Congress leadership nationally or in states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana fall flat with Congress leaders pointing out to his own comments and claims about ensuring backward Muslims get their due via reservations.
Second, his own allies in the NDA, JD(S)’s H.D. Deve Gowda, were claiming credit for ensuring that Muslim backwards got the reservation benefits due to them when Gowda was chief minister of Karnataka, taking away from Modi trying to paint Karnataka’s Congress dispensation into a corner by portraying them as pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu. But Mysore, the princely state has been a pioneer in introducing reservation towards fair representation and social justice.
“The first ever order for affirmative action was issued in 1874 and it included Muslims.” This followed the first ever census conducted in India in 1872 which “revealed a preponderance of Brahmins in public services, to correct which the first order introducing reservation was introduced in 1874 in Mysore state, restricting it to only the Police Department.” In their present form, reservations for Muslim backwards are at least 20 years old.
When BJP’s Basavaraj Bommai was chief minister of the state, he scrapped the reservation benefits for backward Muslims, till he was ordered by the Supreme Court to reinstate the provision.
On April 25, 2023, Karnataka chief minister Bommai’s counsel told the Supreme Court that the state government will not implement its decision to scrap 4% reservation for Muslims in the 2B category of the ‘Other Backward Castes’ till the hearing in the top court is completed.
BJP’s ally in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu has promised to preserve the 4% reservations to Muslims under the OBC category in Andhra Pradesh, if the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance is elected to power. He did this as recently as on May 2 (Thursday), while addressing a Praja Galam public meeting. Naidu, reports The Hindu, said that advocates would be engaged to get the case resolved in the Supreme Court.
“Interests of the Muslims will be safeguarded by rejuvenating welfare schemes meant for them,” he said.
Third, all talk of ‘Pasmanda’ Muslims, which has been used to drive a wedge in the idea of a consolidated Muslim vote, was important in states like Bihar and particularly pushed there. Dainik Jagran even did an ‘inside story’ on November 23, 2022, on the planning by the BJP to cleave backward Muslim votes off from the Mahagathbandhan for itself. But, now, with this wholesale attack personally by Modi on the idea of reservation for Muslim backwards has further compounded alienation from the BJP. Their votes may not matter or be needed by the BJP, but their political actions do have consequences.
In India, reservations are given, flowing from Article 15(4) and 16(4) for backwardness irrespective of religion.
