The Reservation Policy Expert Committee has declined to recommend the inclusion of Muslim communities under the “Other Backward Communities” (OBC) category, despite a formal proposal from the Religious Minority Committee seeking such a move. According to the Expert Committee findings, the Religious Minority Committee had urged that Muslim communities be recognised as OBCs on the grounds of socio-economic backwardness in Meghalaya and be accommodated within the existing 15 per cent allocation for the General Category.
However, the Expert Committee cited constitutional safeguards in rejecting the proposal. It referred to Article 15, which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law. The panel highlighted that while the Constitution permits reservations for backward classes, religion by itself is not a qualifying criterion. Citing Clause (4) of Article 16, which allows reservation in public employment for “any backward class of citizens” not adequately represented in State services, the Committee noted that the framers of the Constitution deliberately excluded religion from this provision.
It further pointed out that Articles 341 and 342, dealing with the identification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, also do not rely on religion as a basis for classification. The Committee acknowledged that certain states have granted limited reservation to Muslim OBCs. However, it observed that the issue is currently under adjudication before the Supreme Court, making it sub-judice and inappropriate for comment or recommendation at this stage.