Stripped of Rights: How West Bengal’s OBC Verdict is Sparking a Movement for Justice Among Muslim Communities
A High Court ruling voiding OBC status for 77 Muslim communities has left thousands of students and job seekers in West Bengal in limbo, raising concerns about systemic neglect and fueling calls for justice across the state
The Muslim society of Bengal faced a gradual decline after the Battle of Plassey. At the beginning of the 20th century, it started to turn around socio-economically. But Partition in the middle of this century created an intellectual vacuum in the Bengali Muslim community of West Bengal. The report headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar proved that the situation has not improved much even after many years of independence. Also, according to the Ranganath Misra report, some recommendations were made to improve the situation. After a long procurement, the West Bengal government took some steps to bring the backward sections of the Muslim community under reservation in the education and employment sector.
Even in earlier times, some sections of the Muslim community were getting some limited rights as per the recommendations of the Mandal Commission belonging to other backward classes. That such provisions were not enough was exposed in the report of the Sachar Commission. In West Bengal, the work continued even after the political transition and in 2012, the OBCs were divided into A and B groups with some reservations and other privileges. And an organization called Atmadeep went to court to challenge this. Reservation of OBCs has always been frowned upon by a section of society. The scene of self-immolation against the recommendations of the Mandal Commission has been widely circulated. After that, the anti-OBC organization Youth for Equality was formed due to Arjun Singh’s recommendation about OBC. It was led by Arvind Kejriwal, the ex-Chief Minister of Delhi. After a decade-long litigation, the High Court declared the entire process null and void due to procedural errors. The judgment also commented,
“This Court is of the view that the selection of 77 classes of Muslims as Backward is an affront to the Muslim Community as a whole. This Court’s mind is not free from doubt that the said community has been treated as a commodity for political ends. This is clear from the chain of events that led to the classification of the 77 Classes as OBCs and their inclusion to be treated as a vote bank. Identification of the classes in the aid community as OBCs for electoral gains would leave them at the mercy of the concerned political establishment and may defeat and deny other rights. Such reservation is therefore also an affront to Democracy and the Constitution of India as a whole”
One cannot be blamed if one finds such comments made by the judges who passed such judgments to be insensitive to the backward society and out of touch with the real situation. Only the judges can answer how they considered the inclusion of 77 communities in the OBC category as ‘electoral advantage’ and ‘a product of political gain’ without considering the historical and socio-political context.
OBC certificates issued since 2010 in West Bengal have been nullified in a long-running case in the High Court.
As a result, the rights of nearly five lakh OBC-beneficiary people became uncertain. Even when the OBC quota was in place, there were many complaints that the benefits were not provided properly under this quota. Several social workers have complained that OBC privileges have been violated in various workplaces in various universities. It has been repeatedly stated that OBC facilities in West Bengal are less than in other states.
In this situation, there is a sensation in the student society of West Bengal.
Although the case has reached the Supreme Court, the progress is not promising.
Additionally, dissatisfaction within the larger Muslim community either for securing admission to college universities or for job applications is increasingly concerned about the inactiveness of the government. Altogether, the community people from rural to urban demography of the state are likely to take the streets for their systematic deprivation and wilful indifference to the running government. In several places, thinking about the uncertain future, the inception of the movement has started. As part of this initiative, posters have been seen in different districts. The poster labelling is believed to be from among the sufferers.
Posters demanding justice on OBC issues were seen from Furfura Shrine to the Aliah University Campus in Park Circus. Time will tell how far the effect of this poster labelling will be fruitful. But such posters are proof that people are becoming increasingly concerned about this issue. It has always been true that communities where a lack of education has been present for a long time lead to unemployment in the socio-economic sphere leading to criminal tendencies. In the violent political history of West Bengal, backward castes have been used as cudgel-bearers by political leaders. Therefore, it is a concern for the security of the state that the future of so many students and youths in the field of education and work is uncertain because of cancelling the OBC facilities. And coming forward to solve this situation is not only a matter of a community, not a matter of a state but the responsibility of the entire nation.
