Paper: GS – II, Subject: Polity, Topic: Rights issues, Issue: Maharashtra Withdraws 5% Muslim quota.
Context:
The Maharashtra government withdrew a decade-old resolution granting 5% reservation to 50 Muslim sub-castes under Special Backward Category-A.
Key Takeaways:
Background:
- In 2014, months before Assembly elections, the then Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra issued two ordinances:
- 16% reservation for Marathas under a new ESBC category
- 5% reservation for 50 Muslim sub-castes under a newly created Special Backward Category A (SBC-A)
With this, total reservation in Maharashtra rose to 68%, breaching the Supreme Court’s 50% ceiling (from Indra Sawhney, 1992).
| Constitutional Provisions: Article 14: Equality before law; reservation must satisfy reasonable classification. Article 15(1): Prohibits discrimination on religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth Article 15(4): State can provide special provisions for SEBCs, SCs, STs (educational upliftment). Article 15(5) – Reservation in educational institutions. |
Sachar Committee (2006):
- Highlighted low literacy, high dropout rates, poor access to public employment.
- Showed Muslims lagging behind even some SC/ST groups on key indicators.
Maharashtra’s 5% Muslim sub-caste reservation, though legally approved, remained unused due to legal, political and administrative hurdles. Its withdrawal revives debate on social justice and highlights the need for effective policies ensuring socio-economic upliftment of marginalized Muslim communities.
Source: (The Indian Express)
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