Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday decided to reserve four percent of government jobs and seats in State-run educational institutions for 25 socially and educationally backward classes among Muslims.
Ignoring an edict issued by Islamic seminaries against the division of Muslims into castes for providing reservations, the State Cabinet decided to bring an ordinance to implement four percent reservations for backward Muslims.
“The government will soon bring an ordinance and implement the reservations from this academic year (2007-08),” said Minority Welfare Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir.
With the courts setting aside earlier Government Orders to provide five percent reservations to the entire community, the Government this time divided the community into 25 classes and also reduced the quantum of reservations by one percent. The cabinet accepted the recommendations made by retired senior official P.S. Krishnan to provide reservations to “25 socially, educationally and economically backward classes of Muslims”.
List ‘E’
Shabbir said the government decided to create this group under list ‘E’ of backward classes in the State.
This will take the total reservations for backward classes in the State to 29 percent and overall reservations to 50 percent. Scheduled castes enjoy 14 percent and scheduled tribes seven percent reservations.
Syeds, Pathans, Sheikhs, Arabs, Irani, Cucthi Memon, Mughals and others, which are considered forward classes among Muslims, have been excluded.
Shabbir claimed that 80 to 85 percent of Muslims in the State would enjoy the benefits of this reservation. According to the 2001 census, Muslims constitute 9.2 percent of the 77 million population of the State.
Defending the decision, the minister said this was done as the earlier attempts to provide reservations to the entire community were struck down by courts.
“All Muslims are backward and deserve reservations but in an attempt to provide reservations to the entire community we were not able to give reservations even to one per cent,” he said.  Last month, six famous Islamic seminaries in Hyderabad had issued a ‘fatwa’ or edict against the state government’s move on the ground that there is equality among Muslims and Islam does not have a caste system.
Muslim United Action Committee (MUAC), which comprises half a dozen Muslim religious, political and social organisations, had also opposed the move.