In a sense, this was atonement for the injustice meted out to people who belonged to those communities by the rest of the Hindu community. And hence the provision covered only those people who were part of the Hindu community; those who converted to other religions moved out of its cover
The Constitution-makers provided for reservation expressly for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as a form of affirmative action to bring the people who belonged to the dalit and adivasi communities to the mainstream of society by giving them opportunities and their due share in power.
In a sense, this was atonement for the injustice meted out to people who belonged to those communities by the rest of the Hindu community. And hence the provision covered only those people who were part of the Hindu community; those who converted to other religions moved out of its cover.
At the same time, the Constitution provided for the introduction of reservation for socially and educationally backward people irrespective of their religious faith. The implementation of the Mandal Commission report has extended the benefits accrued to the SC/ST communities to the Other Backward Classes.
Solving the matrix of castes and classes in India is a tough job as it does not take one linear approach. Hence the Supreme Court’s decision that converts from a Hindu backward community to a Muslim backward community cannot enjoy the benefits enjoyed by OBCs triggers more questions than they seek to answer.
The court is of the conclusive opinion that a person does not carry his backwardness when he moves from one religion to the other. In the instant case, a person converted from a backward Hindu community to a Muslim community which the government had already designated as a backward community. The court may be right in saying Islam does not approve of classes inside its community, but the situation on the ground and the spirit of the Constitution could be suggesting something else.
Backwardness is a social construct, and not a religious one. Especially in the instant case where more than 95 per cent of the Muslims are designated as OBCs in Tamil Nadu.
Reservations are not the end, but a means. And a powerful one at that. As long as the Constitution provides for OBC status for communities irrespective of their religion, the provision must be reflected in its implementation, irrespective of conversion. It is time society took up the matter for serious introspection.
