National Movement For Muslim Reservation
D-250, Abul Fazal Enclave, jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025
Tel. 26946780 Fax: 26947346 Email: mushawarat@mushawarat.com

NATIONAL MEET OF RESERVATION ACTIVISTS
IICC, NEW DELHI, 10 February,2010
STATEMENT

Muslim Activists for Reservation from all over the country meeting in Delhi on 10 February, 2010 have considered the Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minority headed by Justice Ranganath Mishra, former Chief Justice of India, in depth and generally welcome it and salute the Chairman and all the members of the Commission for their liberal and progressive approach which will go a long way to minimize social and economic discrimination within the country, encourage national integration and reduce bias, prejudice, jealousy and hostility among social groups. The Activists feel that New India built on the foundation of Equality, Dignity and Social Justice for All, under the Rule of Law shall over the years be come a happier place to live in & achieve faster development through the collective endeavor of all satisfied people, free of all forms of discrimination & social disparities.    
The Participants are convinced that Reservation has become a universally accepted device for equalizing opportunities in heterogeneous and multi-segmented societies, if equality and justice are to reach weaker sections. They are equally convinced that within the democratic framework, all deprived and frustrated groups have a right to place their problems before the bar of the nation & receive their share in the national pie.
The Participants deem it a matter of national shame that 60 years after the drawn of Freedom nearly 80% of our people today live on a daily average expenditure of Rs.20. By and large they belong to SCs, STs, Minorities and Non-Muslim OBCs. The Participants, therefore, urge the political parties as well as the Government not only to articulate a vision of Dignity, Equality & Justice for All but take urgent and concrete steps to realize the vision which will infuse hope in the deprived and   energize them to contribute to an inclusive economy, effective participation in governance & due share in fruits of progress & development.
The Participants note that the Constitution of India speaks of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity & has thereby established a political, legal and judicial framework but the people are yet to reach the goal of Fraternity. The Participants strongly feel that Fraternization shall be possible only when all sections of the people, irrespective of religion, race or caste, achieve the same social, economic and educational level & the core concept of the Constitution, that all citizens are equal, possess equal rights and should therefore have equitable share in whatever the country has or produces, is fulfilled. Democracy should not remain a game of power among the haves and the elite. The Participants realize that equalization is idealistic and perhaps not fully achievable, but the State can expand it through equal education as well as purposeful occupation through Reservation.
            In this context, the Participants welcome & thankfully endorse the basic recommendations of the Mishra Commission particularly on Inclusion of Muslim & Christian Dalits in SC Lists & Reservation for Religious Minorities, who form about 20% of the people, in public employment, education and fruits of development The Participants consider that given political will, the common aspirations of all deprived groups for partnership in power is achievable through Reservation.
The Participants have also concluded that Development-oriented Census for all identifiable social groups with uniform socio- economic parameters and substitution of uniform ceiling of 50 % on reservation with state-specific ceilings for distribution of benefits of all welfare schemes & social developments among all backward groups in proportion to the population at the operational level is essential to replace adhocism by scientific determination of quotas and sub-quotas.
.           The Participants have no desire to cut into advantages and benefits enjoyed by the high castes or by middle & high income groups in demanding expeditious implementation of the recommendations of the Mishra Commission. And they firmly reject any special schemes for their own exclusive development & desire proportional distribution of social goods & services not only to the Muslims but to the members of all other religious communities & groups, who are eligible.
            The Participants consider that Reservation is integrative, not divisive; that Reservation is neither secessionism nor separatism, but inclusive in the national mainstream; that Reservation equalizes all as anti- dote to religious & caste discrimination.  
The Participants know that democracy demands repeated knocks at the doors of power. Their caravan of Social Justice has been moving forward from the Mandal Commission, to the Gopal Singh Panel, to Sachar Committee and to Mishra Commission. But apathy & difference did not breed any agitation in the Muslim mind. On the other hand, the Muslims have been patiently waiting for the conscience of the nation to wake up and to take note of the fact that 1/6 of the national population suffers disabilities, deprivations & injustices at every step which have kept them from   contributing their energy & resources to the nation, apart from keeping them at the bottom of the educational & economic ladder.
The Participants pay their sincere tribute to the Sachar Committee which diagnosed the malaise & to the Mishra Commission which has prescribed the panacea and urge the Government, the secular parties & the Parliament to dispense the remedial measures urgently.
The Participants realize that to defeat the vicious propaganda, they have to convince the people at large that Reservation is not hostile to any community or caste and that it shall be universalized in due course and benefit all deprived groups.
            The Participants have decided unanimously that the Reservation Movement shall never adopt undemocratic means or violent methods, howsoever long it may take for it to achieve its goal, they shall press the Muslim case before the bar of the nation, logically and forthrightly, basing themselves on facts and data and utilize all democratic & non-violent methods of public protest, meetings, rallies, dharnas, political lobbying and mass petition which the Freedom Movement has sanctified.
The Participants thank the political parties which have expressed support & sympathy for the Movement. Muslim Reservation has today become the litmus test of Secularism & the Muslim Community will not accept claims of secularism of those who oppose Muslim Reservation. 
The Participants are convinced that unity is essential for success and, therefore reiterate the call to unity to all sub-communities & sub-groups within the Muslim Community to join this historic Struggle for Reservation & to carry on, till justice is done and goal is achieved.
            To carry on the struggle the Participants decide to enlarge the nation-wide Movement to invite all deprived groups to join the caravan and to reach all states districts and towns, wherever possible, with the objective of persuading the political parties, the Government and the Parliament to implement the Mishra Report.

National Meet of Reservation Activist, New Delhi, 10 Feb., 2010

Working Paper No. I

INTRODUCTION TO MISHRA REPORT & MUSLIM BACKWARDNESS
The National Commission on Religious and Linguistic Minorities, headed by the former Chief Justice of India, Justice Ranganath Mishra, established by Government of India in October 2004, submitted its Report to the Government in May, 2007. The Government tabled it in the Parliament on 18 December 2009, more than two and a half years later, and, that too, without any Action Taken Report or any Comment on its Recommendations. Two and a half years was an adequate interval of time for the Government to examine it threadbare at every level by the Departments concerned, the Committee of Secretaries and the Group of Ministers  & to consult political parties and representative  organizations of religious and linguistic minorities. Obviously, the omission to consider the Report was deliberate and designed to test the waters and to bury it fathoms deep. Fortunately, important recommendation of the Report leaked into the public domain. In fact at the National Conference on Muslim Reservation held on 1 February, 2009, relevant recommendations were printed along with the recommendations of the Gopal Singh Panel Report, the Mandal Report, and the Sachar Report.
            In 1949, Muslims were deprived of reservation by amending the reservation clause in the Draft Constitution to omit Muslims. This act of injustice has been partially undone by the recommendations of the Mishra Commission which are unique & unprecedented in the history of independent India. That is why they have evoked so much enthusiasm throughout the country, particularly in the Muslim community, which, to quote the Sachar Report, is ‘almost as backward as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and more backward than non-Muslim OBCs’. The Mishra Report has generated the hope that a democratically elected Government committed to social justice, inclusive development and partnership in government will sooner or later be forced to examine its recommendations seriously and, try to build a national consensus to implement them expeditiously.
This explains why ever since the National Conference on Muslim Reservation, the Mishra Report has become the bible for those who seek to uplift the Muslim community and other religious minorities. Hundred of rallies and meetings have taken place throughout the country and many memoranda have been submitted to the Central and State Governments by various groups & organisation. Practically all secular parties have endorsed the Report and today nearly a dozen national and state registered parties (with the not unexpected exception of the BJP and the Shiv Sena) have accepted the principle of reservation for religious minorities, in public recruitment & higher education and development benefits as enshrined in the Report.
Recommendations of the Mishra Report
Briefly, the Recommendations of the Mishra Report are as follows:
(1) 15% reservation for religious minorities in public recruitment at every level, with 10% exclusively for the Muslims and 5% for other minorities, with the provision that if the latter is not fully utilized, then the unutilized balance shall also become available to the Muslims;
(2)  Repeal of para 3 of the Constitutional (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, so that not only those who profess Hinduism (or Sikhism or Buddhism, which were added later) but all persons who belong to the same occupational groups and have remained educationally and socially backward like the SC’s should be included in the Central as well as State Lists of Scheduled Castes, irrespective of the religion they profess. The existing provision has been termed anti-secular and, therefore, unconstitutional by the Mishra Commission;
(3) Apart from making other suggestions for promotion of higher education among the Muslims, the Commission has recommended that the minorities should enjoy 15% reservation in all Government institutions with 10% exclusively for the Muslims and 5% for other minorities as in the case of public recruitment;
(4)   In all social development and welfare schemes which are operated at the ground level, including the schemes which have been recognized in the Guidelines of the Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme, the minorities shall be allocated 15% of the benefits. Indeed the Mishra Commission recognizes that apart from Act 15(4) & 16 (4) are Backward Classes, ipso facto under Article 46 of the Constitution, the minorities are one of the weaker sections of the people.
(5)     Various Legal, Institutional & Administrative measures for implementation of the Recommendations.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST RECOMMENDAATIONS
                        Ever since the revolutionary recommendations of the Mishra Commission became public, there has been a vigorous and orchestrated chorus of propaganda against them by the vested interests. On three fronts, 1) to divide the Muslim community  2) to create bad blood between the OBCs which belong to religious minorities and the Hindu OBCs &  3)to mislead the national intelligentsia and public opinion.  
Various pseudo-constitutional and incorrect legal and administrative arguments have been advanced in order to kill the Recommendations.
The first argument has always been that the Constitution does not permit reservation on the basis of religion.  The keyword in Article 15(1) which prohibits discrimination by the State only on ground of religion, race, caste etc is ‘ONLY’. This implies that if a religious, racial or caste group forms a weaker section under Article 46 or constitutes a Backward Class under Article 15(4)  & 16 (4) of the Constitution, it is entitled to special provisions for its advancement. The fact is that 60 years after independence the Muslims, and other minorities, particularly in States and UTs where they form a minority, constitute a Backward Class within the meaning of Articles 15(4) & 16(4) of the Constitution. The Muslims have, therefore, been demanding reservation not because they are Muslims but because they constitute as a Backward Class.
In the course of the debate in the Constituent Assembly, Dr. Ambedkar & others repeatedly used the word ‘community’. Subsequently the Mandal Commission, 1980, following example set by several states, included sections of the Muslim and other religious minorities in the list of OBCs. The Gopal Singh Panel, 1983, proposed that Muslims should enjoy reservation at least in Groups C & D Posts, because of their educational backwardness. The Supreme Court judgment in the Inder Sawhey case laid down that any social group, whatever its mark of identity, if it is found to be backward under the same criteria as the others, will be entitled to be treated as a Backward Class. This was also the view take by former Chief Justice Venkatachalliah when he presided over the National Commission on the Constitution. The Sachar Report has scientifically & thoroughly established through Government statistics & reports that the Muslims constitute a Backward Class. This conclusion is also supported by the investigation conducted by the Mishra Commission.
More importantly, several states in India, particularly Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Manipur, have included Muslims qua Muslims in the Lists of Backward Classes & allocated them separate quotas. These inclusions have not been judicial challenged. Obviously, the Constitution cannot be interpreted differently in different parts of the country.
The conclusion, therefore, is that the Muslim community which constitutes a Backward Class is entitled to reservation in government jobs and education as well as, benefits of development and that reservation will act as catalyst for its uplift .
Secondly, to misguide Muslim, education is put forward as the alternative to reservation. Education is essential even to find due place in reservation. But education without reservation only adds to the army of unemployed educated Muslims. Reservation does not demoralize the people; it does curb but encourage spirit of competition.
            Thirdly, every effort is being made to make Muslims to believe Reservation is charity. Reservation is not a dole but a right and is a universally accepted approach for socio-economic uplift. They are told that it will harm the Muslims; it cannot harm but only benefit the Muslim community. No Backward Class has refused reservation. Finally, Muslims are told not to go for reservation as government service in shrinking and private sector is expanding. The fact is that there is no reduction in government staff in absolute numbers. Also government service carries social prestige which private service does not. In any case, the private sector has not opened its door to Muslims.
On the second front, vested interests are propagating that reservation shall divide the Muslims. No, reservation shall unite the Muslim for a common cause. Only 10 to 15% of the Muslim community belongs to the so called Ashraf while 85% to 90% are non-Ashraf. The Sachar Committee has brought out three important points:
(1) Due to ignorance and inattention Muslim Backward Classes have not been surveyed comprehensively and that is why with every successive statistical survey, the percentage of Muslim OBC’s goes on increasing to levels, higher than that of Hindu OBCs.
(2) By a detailed comparison it brought out that there is substantially very little difference between the educational, economic & social levels of the Ashraf and non-Ashraf.
(3)  In several states, Muslim OBC’s have been undercounted, particularly in West Bengal and Assam.
In order to remove the apprehensions planted in their mind by the vested interests, the first National Convention on Muslim Reservation held in 1994 resolved that the Muslim sub-communities which stand notified as OBCs shall enjoy priority and the first claim on any Muslim quota and the others shall be entitled only for the left-over. Thus, priority and preference have been conceded by the Muslim community as a whole to the Muslim OBCs. This formulation was repeated in the National Conference on Reservation held in February, 2009.
The Muslim community has also been advocating a reasonably low cut-off for the Creamy Layer so that the ‘Ashraf’ lose the advantage they may have. Those who want the Creamy Layer to be retained have been advocates of raising it to the level where it will not filter out the undeserving, as decided by the Supreme Court but allow the privileged few to restore their monopoly & thus defeat the very purpose of reservation.
The 2009 Conference had also asked the State Governments to recognize more Muslim OBCs immediately, particularly in West Bengal & Assam where the ceiling of 50 % is yet to be reached.
Furthermore, the Muslim community is generally of the view that candidates from poor families only should be eligible for reservation.
Finally, just as  many sub-groups within larger conglomerates are demanding ‘categorization’ & have their own sub-quota, the Muslim community should no objection if a sizeable Muslim OBC, on finding that it is not getting its due from a common Muslim quota, may opt for a separate sub-quota.
What is important is that in the larger interest of the Community they struggle unitedly first for securing reservation and subsequently ensure that every Muslim sub-community or sub-group receives its due share. Today, some groups are counting the chicken before they are halted.
MANDAL DISPENSATION
            It may be mentioned at this point that under the Mandal dispensation the notional share of the Muslims is 2.9% out of 27 % based on 1981 Census. By taking into account the 2001 Census, the Muslim share may rise to 3.5%. Incidentally, it is not comprehensible how the Mishra Commission has suggested the alternative that the Muslims may get ‘6% out of the existing quota of 27% & other religious minorities allotted 2%’. This will be unjust and unacceptable to Hindu OBC’s, even if they concede a separate quota of 3-4% for the Muslim OBC’s.
It may also be mentioned that in the next Census of 2011, the population of the religious minorities may exceed 20%, with the Muslims touching, even crossing, 15%. Taking Muslim backwardness index as 90 % of SC/ST=100, the logical demand of the Muslims will be reservation of atleast 13.5%.
The second strategy of the communal forces is to create bad blood between Muslims and Hindu OBC’s. The Muslim community has never stood in the way of the Hindu Backward Classes or even higher castes to get their due. In fact some Muslim leaders have been pleading for universal reservation which will recognize & factor in the element of backwardness in every social group and sub-group including the high castes and get them their due. Communal forces equate Muslim reservation with separatism & even with Partition. Reservation is not separatism or secessionism. Those who think on those lines are Muslim-baiters. Such pernicious ideology has to be fought on political grounds by the secular forces. Did the country break up when SC/ST got reservation, or when Mandal Recommendation was implemented?
            As the third strategy in order to mislead the intelligentsia, a technical objection is raised that the Mishra Commission was not created by the Parliament but by the Ministry of Social Empowerment but they forget that the Sachar Committee was created by the PMO and yet its recommendations have been at least partially accepted and to the extent possible are under implementation by the Government. The Government which has placed the Report in the Parliament is yet to take the initiative to develop a national consensus and implemented it.
            Another procedural objection is being raised that the recommendations of the Mishra Commission should first be considered by the National Commission of Backward Classes but even a cursory reading of the Constitution will bring out that these Commissions at the Central & the State levels are primarily concerned with individual groups and sub-groups which were wrongly included or left out of the count. Mandal Recommendation was not processed through the National Commission for Backwardness Classes, it did not even exist.
ADHOCISM IN RESERVATION QUOTAS
            It is very difficult in the absence of authoritative date to work out the categories and sub-categories in the Indian society with their populations and levels of backwardness & to fix their quota or sub-quota. But whatever it may be, slowly we are moving towards universal reservation, particularly in public recruitment and higher education in order to include the weaker-sections, even people living below the poverty line. All social groups & sub-groups in the country have the democratic right of participation in governance, in the management of social affairs and in the benefits of progress.
            This is a fluid situation and therefore, the Supreme Court should provide guidelines for scientific determination of backwardness and fixation of quotas & sub-quotas which have so far been done only in an adhoc member, such adhocism, in the long run, will be rejected by all groups.
INCLUSION OF MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIAN DALITS IN SC LISTS
The recommendation by the Mishra Commission for including Muslim & Christian Dalits in the Lists of SC’s is so transparent and constitutionally logical that one does not see how any one can rationally oppose it. What is being said is that the repeal of the’ Hindu clause’ will create a rush of the SCs towards other religions. There have always been some conversions but one can not visualize a flood. No such flood took place during Muslim rule or when Ambedkar became a Budhist. Why should SCs forsake the many advantages of being majority Hindus and join minority groups which faces many disadvantages? On the other hand, the Scheduled Caste leadership has made it clear that Christian and Muslims Dalits are welcome but they should bring in additional quota proportional to their population. This is a fair suggestion & should be taken up when the question of lowering or abolishing the judicial ceiling of 50 % is taken up with the SC.
ESSENTIAL STEPS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
To defeat the strategy of the vested interests to dilute or subvert the Mishra recommendations, the Government will have to undertake two basic steps:
(i ) Conduct a development-oriented decennial Census due in 2011, so that the count is not only territorial but soci-economic and the population as well as the level of backwardness of all social groups and sub-groups are brought out by adopting a set of relevant and easily accessible parameters like literacy rate  number of graduates per unit of population, number of Government servant, per unit of population, possession of a pucca house & cultivable land, membership of an elected body etc. The territorial census should thus become a development census.
(ii) Take up with due respect with the Supreme Court a plea for the repeal of the illogical and uniform of 50 % ceiling on total reservation. It is a fact that the number of Backward Classes and the levels of their backwardness as well as the numbers of Weaker Section however defined vary from State to State. How can there be a uniform ceiling for the whole country in the name of ‘merit’ or ‘administrative efficiency’? Total reservation has to be State-specific as some States have already done, for example, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka. Several jurists have also suggested that the Central Government should move the Supreme Court to review its stand, lay down guidelines and give freedom to the States to reach their own level, within the common criteria and methodology, prescribed by the Supreme Court.
Unless these two steps are taken, the rising demand from SC & ST for rise in their quota to cover increase in population, any rise in the quota for the non-Muslim OBCs (which was accepted 27% by Mandal under legal constraint), the demands of the Muslim community and other religious minorities and of various Hindu high & intermediate castes who have a backward core, simply cannot be met.

ECONOMIC STATUS OF MUSLIMS
As Professor Arjun Sengupta has pointed out, the extremely poor, the very poor, the poor and the vulnerable who form the low income group, excluding the middle income and high income groups, constitute roughly 80% of the people and live on a cash expenditure of Rs. 20/- per day. The variation between the SC/ST, the Muslim and the non-Muslim OBC’s is between 79.9 and 87.8, while the rating of the Others is 54.8. Contrast it with middle and high income: the first three groups may between 12.2 and 20.1 while the Others are rated at 45.2%.
Thus Muslims can hardly benefit from reservation on economic basis as those of the bottom of the ladder will be ignored.
MANDAL CALCULATION
            Now, let us analyse Mandal’s calculation. Mandal did not lay down separate Sub-quotas for OBCs of different religious communities or even for major Hindu OBCs.  Based on the Census of 1981, Muslims (other than STs) constituted 11.2 % of the national population, while; the non-Hindu religious communities together came to 16.2 %. On the basis of social, educational & economic parameters Mandal concluded that 52 % of the Hindu community, other than SCs and STs, constitute OBC. Then Mandal made an unwarranted assumption that the OBCs in other religious groups also constitute 52.1% of their group population. Mandal calculated that the Hindu OBC castes constituted 43.7 % of the total national population. To this he added 8.4 % (52% of 16.2) for Non-Hindu religious groups & came to a total of 52% (43.7+8.4) as the national population of OBCs. Then taking note of the Supreme Court ceiling of 50 % on total reservation and 22.5% reservation for SC/STs, Mandal recommended reservation of 27% only for the OBCs. Even though their population was almost twice this figure if not more, while the SC/ST, the other Backward Classes, received fall weightage for their population.
            Under the Mandal dispensation the notional Sub quota for Muslims (minus other religious minorities) comes to only 2.9 %. This improves slightly if 2001 Census data is taken as the basis. Then it rises to 3.35 %.
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WHY MANDAL UNDERCOUNTED MUSLIM OBCs
This is how Mandal committed the serious error of assuming that the % of OBCs in the Muslim Community is the same as in the Hindu Community, i.e., 52 %. This is historically, sociologically and occupationally inaccurate.
            Firstly, There is no doubt that 90-95 % of the Muslim Indians have descended from Hindu converts to Islam.  There were very few high caste converts among them; they largely came from the lower castes and the marginalized sections of the Hindu society. This implies that the proportion of OBCs among the Muslims must be higher than in the Hindu Community.
Secondly, the converts came disproportionately also from among the artisans and craftsmen. i.e. those who work with their hands.  This also points in the same direction, i.e, higher proportion of the Shudras.
            Thirdly, some Muslims who came from outside and claimed descent from the Holy Prophet were recognized as Syeds. Others like the Ulema, the Sufis, the traders and the soldiers and their descendants (some by Hindu mothers) were largely accommodated among the Ashraf. The few high-caste converts were accepted as Sheikhs and Pathans. The traders formed their own sub-communities like Khojas,   Memons, Ismailis etc.
Fourthly, since the loss of political power, the Muslim nobility and the landed gentry have been going down the economic ladder. They lost their Zamindaris, Jagirs, Inams etc. They lost judicial, religious & executive appointments & employment opportunities with the advent of the British; their Awkaf came under encroachment as well as they were slowly alienated since independence. As Sachar Report has pointed out, the Muslim community has gone down educationally, socially  and economically & therefore the proportion of Backward Classes among there must have risen & be higher today than it was in 1947.
Fifthly, partition & migration of the well-to-do Muslims to Pakistan took its toll. Taken together the proportion of Ashraf cannot exceed 10-15 %.
 But under the Mandal assumption, the Ashraf will absurdly account for about 40 % of the Muslims, with 10 % as SC/ST and 50 % (6 % out of 12 %) as OBCs! This is too high a count for the Ashraf & two laws for the OBCs.
The best estimate of ‘Caste’ breakup among the Muslims is ‘Ashraf’ 15%, ‘Ajlaf’ 75% and Arzal (SC/ ST) 10 %.
The Sachar report has found that many Ajlaf & others who would be designated as OBCs have been left out. The best example is West Bengal where the recognized Muslim OBCs account for 7 % out of 25 % Muslim population & comprise of just 9 Muslim Sub-Groups while on both sides of the West Bengal, in Bihar and Assam, the Muslim OBCs’ are much higher in proportion. However, with awakening, more Muslim Sub- groups are demanding and receiving recognition & inclusion in the OBC Lists. The CSSIO Reports show a rise from 34 % in 1955 to 42 % in 1961. This will rise further.
BREAKTHROUGH BY MISHRA COMMISSION
To sum up;
1)      Mishra Commission did not see backwardness only in terms of Article 15(4) and 16(4). In 16(4), he defined backwardness in a wider sense.
2)      Mishra Commission treated religious minorities as one of the weaker section under Article 46 because in our segmented society, through democratic, the minorities were ipso facto weak and needed protection and promotion of their development.
3)      Mishra Commission found clause 3 of the Constitution Order of 1950 as anti-secular and unconstitutional and therefore proposed repeal of this clause, in order to open the doors to all SC’s on the basis of common disability and occupational parity.
4)      Mishra Commission concluded that reservation ceiling of 50%, was not absolute and could be flexible. Neither ‘merit’ nor administrative efficiency can be computerized and lead to objective results.
5)       Reservation so far was always adhoc, like a gift or charity. Mishra Commission proposed caste census with socio-economic parameters so that along with population the backwardness of every group can be measured and their quota could be fixed.
This, in essence, is the great contribution of the Mishra Commission.

National Movement for Muslim Reservation
National Meet of Reservation Activist, New Delhi, 10 Feb., 2010
 Working Paper No. II
 Major Issues for  Consensus

Introduction
Reservation Sub-quota for Muslims under the Mandal Commission comes to only 2.95% within 27%. Even if, recalculated on the basis of 2001 Census, the Muslim sub-quota will not exceed 3.5%. This quantum is much lower than the 10% exclusive reservation for Muslims proposed by the Mishra Commission. The Muslim OBCs are estimated to constitute about 75-80 % of the Muslims, plus another 10% who are Dalits. The Mandal Commission has drastically underestimated the proportion of Muslim OBCs at & then braaketted them with relatively influential & affluent Hindu OBCs, which deprived Muslim even of their modest Muslims share.
Consensus 1: This is no constitutional bar. Muslim Reservation under Articles 15(1) 15(4), 16(4), and 46 permit reservation on the basis of religion, as on the basis of caste, if a group is found to constitute a Backward Class under uniform parameters.
Consensus 2:  Reservation does not amount to separation or secession from the national mainstream. Equitable Reservation brings diverse social groups closer to each other, acts as a national adhesive & equalizer, maximizes the sense of fraternity and equality and eliminates frustration and acts as a factor for integration
Consensus 3: As far as Muslim Dalits (about 10 % of NMP) are concerned, there is  already a universal consensus that the recommendation of the Mishra Commission for their inclusion in the list of SCs is beneficial to them & to community  and the Government must  amend the Constitutional Order, of  1950 accordingly and delete clause 3, the ‘Hindu clause’

Consensus- 4: Muslims reject the notional sub-quota for Muslims of 4 % in 27 % OBCs quota or even as a separate sub-quota.
            Consensus 5: The Sachar Committee has concluded that there is no substantial difference in status of  the ‘Ashraf’ and the ‘non-Ashraf’ Muslims and that barring some individual cases, they suffer from the same educational, economic, political and social backwardness. The Mishra Commission has also treated the Muslim Community as a whole Backward Class, under Article 16 (4) and as a Weaker Section under Article 46 of the constitution.
            Therefore, the Consensus is that the Muslim community be recognized as a Backward Class and a Weaker Section entitled to a separate quota of 10 %  as recommended by the Mishra Commission.
            Consensus 6: Fully conscious of the apprehensions in the mind of the Muslim OBCs, the Movement must emphasize its assurances that the Muslim OBCs will receive priority and preference in the benefits of reservation for Muslim community & that  their interest must be safeguarded in all possible ways, such as fixation of the cut-off limit for Creamy Layer at a reasonably low level and inclusion of the uncounted occupational groups in the Muslim List as well as open the possibility of categorization within   Muslim quota in future.
Consensus 7: For achieving success in their struggle for reservation, as a minority group, as a Backward Class or as a weaker section, and recognizing the social division among themselves, they shall not be in a position to secure their legitimate due from the government or full support from political parties.
            Consensus 8: Muslims  demand Development-oriented consensus of all Social Groups & sub-groups in 2011 which shall bring out not only the identity but also the relative backwardness of various groups, based on appropriate parameters, so that both their population and relative backwardness are available through cross-tabulation and provide a scientific basis for determination of levels of backwardness of every social group    relative to SC/ST which receives 100% weightage for their full  population, and for fixation of reservation quota so that it is not be treated as an ad hoc charity but as a right.
            Consensus 9: The cut-off limit for the Creamy Layer should be fixed at a reasonably low level which may vary from state to state depending upon per capita or per family income.    
Consensus 10: To accommodate the rise in the  population of SC/ST and the recommendation of the Mishra Commission for the Muslim community as well as the surge of  demand for reservation from various other sections of the people, including some high & intermediate castes which also have a backward core, the Supreme Court’s  irrational by uniform ceiling of 50% ,must be revised upward & every state should have its on ceiling,  within the Supreme Court’s Guidelines & parameters for the measure meat of backwardness & fixation of  quotas and sub-quotas for a social group. The Government of India should take up the question with the Supreme Court to repeal or raise the ceiling,
            Consensus 11:  To demand a fair quota not only for itself but also a fair quota for the non-Muslim OBC’s, the Dalits and even the non-Muslim high & intermediate castes.
            Consensus 12 : To eschew for the present the legitimate demand of proportional political representation for a multiplicity of reasons in order to concentrate on socio-economic uplift and to maintain solidarity among all deprived groups.
             
             

        National Movement for Muslim Reservation
National Meet of Reservation Activist, New Delhi, 10 Feb., 2010
Working Paper - III
 Broad Political Strategy & Programme of Action

In order to secure expeditious implementation of the Consensus as outlined in Working Paper II the Meet appreciates that the Muslim Community, despite nation-wide acknowledgment of its multidimensional backwardness, needs the whole-hearted support of other deprived groups & weaker sections. Therefore, apart from uniting all sections of the Muslim Community, the Meet seeks the goodwill & support of all secular forces & political parties in the Parliament and outside to defeat the game of the vested interests. It also designs a long term & short term strategy & formulate a programme of sustained action at local, state and national levels, with particular emphasis on states, towns and districts of Muslim concentration throughout the country. Basic strategy shall rest on belief in Democracy, Rule of Law and peaceful struggle as its pillars.
The Meet reiterates its basic commitment to the Constitution and therefore pledges itself to achieve its objectives through democratic and peaceful means which, in a democracy like ours, should move the heart and mind of the authorities to take a sympathetic view of continued deprivation of the Muslims and apply the panacea of reservation in public employment, higher education and equitable distribution of development benefits as proposed by the Mishra Commission.
            Keeping the above mentioned principles of Unity and Fraternization the Meet proposes that the Movement should launch a campaign to educate public opinion on the historic recommendations of the Commission through a calibrated and result-oriented Programme of Action, beginning with wide publicity throughout the country through posters, hoardings and banners not only in English, Hindi & Urdu but also in the principal languages in all states of Muslim concentration. In addition, it should publish articles & insert advertisements in leading local newspapers, to project reservation as the only remedy against communal bias, religious discrimination and caste prejudice which all violate   Human Rights.
            The Movement should endeavour to develop a broad general platform in support of common aspirations of all depressed & deprived & particularly to emphasize the common objective of social & economic & political justice, through inclusive & equitable participation in government and for defining the quantum & scope of reservation for all marginalized sections. Programme of Action has to be deliberately modulated and calibrated, first, to strengthen unity and solidarity at the base, local town and district and then undertake the construction of suitable structure at the state & national level with universal support.
The Movement, committed as it is to achieve a life of Dignity, Equality and Justice for the Muslims should realize that it cannot achieve its objectives in a multi-segmented society unless the people as a whole, irrespective of religion, caste, race and domicile are mobilized to participate in a common struggle.
The Meet realizes that social, economic and political transformation cannot take place overnight but only through a long and arduous campaign, to inform, educate, consciencetize and organize the people, to make them aware of the exploitation and injustice to which they have been subjected and the possibility of changing the deplorable situation and seeking their due share in the national pie, through persistent and joint struggle. The long term strategy for each marginalized group is to seek support among all sections of the national community so that they come together and become a irreversible social force strong enough to penetrate the walls of apathy and indifference and to expose and defeat the game of deceit and self-aggrandizement played by the vested interests, who constitute 20% of the people at the most, against 80% of the people.  Then they can go together to the second stage at which various groups with unity of purpose shall bring their skills, experiences and knowledge and infuse new momentum in the struggle against the common adversary and defeat hostile propaganda and divisive tendencies.
The Meet hopes and expects to achieve palpable results, more or less uniformly, in all fields at all levels by developing joint mechanisms of all deprived and backward groups at various levels.
This Unity shall transcend diversities so that social, economic and political progress of all peoples goes forward at all levels.  It is this vision which should build the bonds of coordination and cooperation, sympathy and understanding, among the convergent social groups at every operational level. This will definitely accelerate the pace of change.

National Movement for Muslim Reservation
National Meet of Reservation Activist, New Delhi, 10 Feb., 2010
Working Paper - IV
    Programme of Action

The Movement should call upon the Central as well as state governments to implement expeditiously the recommendations of the Mishra Commission, particularly for reservation in government jobs, education and development benefits and for inclusion of Muslim (and Christian) Dalit in SC Lists.
The Movement should project the progress made by the demand of Reservation for Muslims and its recognition and acceptance as well as their articulation at various National Conferences and Conventions organized by Muslim & secular organisations and in the Parliament and in the national press which have slowly penetrated the thinking of the political parties and made them place it on their agenda.
            The Movement requests the secular political parties represented in the Parliament and state legislatures to raise the question of implementation on the floor of the house and to ensure that the governments concerned take urgent step and instruct their legislators to monitor the progress regularly.
             The Movement realizing that the youth of the country, particularly those belonging to minorities, find it easier to obtain educational qualification but much more difficult to secure suitable employment  to utilize their knowledge and training, call upon them to join the peaceful and democratic agitation for reservation and gainful employment anywhere in the country and, failing that, demand unemployment allowance.
            The Movement proposes that the governments as well as local administrations should assess annual requirement of trained manpower, panchayat-wise, block-wise and district-wise and establish suitable local mechanisms to meet the requirements irrespective of their social identity.
            The Movement realizes that what stands in the way of countrywide Muslim surge for education and training is lack of employment opportunities particularly, for the young people who do not belong to the elite or have not been educated in private schools. The systematic deprivation of common youth leaves them in a state of deprivation. The Meet cautions the authorities to realize the explosive potential of the situation if job demand does not keep pace with educational supply, because of bias, prejudice & discrimination and due to corruption and nepotism which has set a price even for the lower jobs. The Movement emphasized that reservation, whatever the basis, does not diminish the job supply. Its purpose is to ensure that all social groups obtain their due share and reiterate that reservation opens the doors of social justice and unites the nation.
            The Movement must press the Supreme Court to repeal 50 % ceiling on reservation to allow state specific ceilings.  
            The Movement is convinced that reservation is directly related to the project for rebuilding the society and therefore invite all social forces, particularly the academicians, the intelligentsia, and the religious & political elite who are the keepers of national conscience to join the Movement to press the authorities to hold a Development-Oriented Census in 2011 to collect socio-economic data on all identifiable groups   to bring out their relative backwardness and fix their quota scientifically.
At the local level the Movement, acting through its teams organize meetings in every town of Muslim concentration, group discussion among lawyers, politicians, ulema, academicians, students & youth and intelligentsia to activise them. Secondly, the Movement may organize token strikes in educational institutions to focus on the impact of reservation on future generations. Thirdly, the Movement may hold token peaceful dharnas at the district head-quarters and submit memoranda of demand addressed to the Prime Minister & Chief Minister through the District Magistrate.
  At the state level, the Movement should hold mass rallies, dharnas at state capitals as well as mass rallies during the sessions of the Assembly in major states, synchronizing them with calls by deputations on Governors, Speakers & Chief Ministers to submit the memoranda incorporating the basic demands.
At the national level the Movement proposes that delegations of Muslim organizations, severally & jointly meet leaders of all sympathetic political parties and representative Muslim Delegations call on the Prime Minister, the Law Minister & the Minister of State for Minority Affairs & other members of the Council of Ministers.
The Movement shall engage organizations and leaders of other minority groups as well as non-Muslim OBCs and Dalits and subsequently organize joint national rallies with the participation of political parties , and organizations of all deprived groups.
            The Movement shall review the progress every year, endeavour to widen the orbit of action both on the political and social plane & adopt suitable ways of drawing the attention of the Central and state governments for active consideration of their demands.
            The Movement invites all deprived social groups to join in pressing for the implementation of the key recommendation the Mishra Commission related to the inclusion of Muslim & Christian Dalits in the SC Lists, reservation for Muslim & other religious minorities and the necessary institutional and administrative changes.