Reservations Goes Beyond Caste Lines, 4% Quota from OBCs goes to Muslims in AP colleges

The concept of Reservations is here to stay. While many fight to remove reservations fully, we continuously see increased quotas based on caste and  including more castes in to eligibility groups. Now, it goes beyond caste lines. Quota reserved will be based on your religious identify. Thats right.  4% of quota out of OBC's 27% quota will now be reserved to Muslims., citing their lack of social and educational backwardness.

Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the implementation of Andhra Pradesh government's controversial community-based quota for Muslims in educational institutions, in a development fraught with serious repercussions and the potential to be cited as precedent for extending the quota to new frontiers.

The apex court had earlier refused to lift the stay ordered by the high court on the rollout of Muslim quota in admissions to engineering, medical, BDS and other professional colleges including polytechnic institutions, forbidding the Congress government from moving beyond counseling of students eligible for reserved seats. The 4% earmarked for Muslims has been carved out of the 27% OBC quota to avoid breaching the 50% cap on reservations.

 
With this, Andhra Pradesh has joined other states in South India — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala — to provide for different versions of quota for Muslims which the opponents argue is violative of the constitutional provision prohibiting religion-based reservations.

Andhra Pradesh government had argued that the Muslim quota had not been introduced on the basis of religion but because of the social and educational backwardness of the community.

SC gives nod to 4% quota for Muslims in AP colleges-India-The Times of India