A case is advocated for reservation of jobs for the community in government services on the ground of religions ..
Quality of educational output is more important than support in a few jobs. Under the New Economic Policy, with the increased emphasis on privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation, while job opportunities in the public sector are shrinking, they are fast expanding in the private, cooperative and external sectors. Muslims holding professional degrees are getting jobs in private corporate sector, multinational corporations, the Gulf countries, and some very bright students get opportunities in advanced countries. Though securing a few higher public services gives a psychological satisfaction of sharing power, yet there is an apprehension of decline in the quality of educational output ... According to a comparative study of the Muslims on the one hand, and SCs, STs who enjoyed the facility of reservation in jobs since the last 45 years on the other, it was revealed that pass percentage at the graduate level for the Muslims was 51 while it was only 35 in case of SC and ST candidates. For B.E. and M.B.B.S. degrees, pass percentages for SC and ST candidates were 33 and 35 respectively against the general average of 59 and 62 for both the courses respectively. The percentage was much lower than those of the Muslim candidates for these courses ...
Failure of achieving desired objective in Kerala was observed in 'India Today' (November 30, 1994): "Over half a century of affirmative action notwithstanding, Kerala's Muslim community, which comprises 22% of the State's population in under represented in the State's bureaucracy. A report by the State Legislature Committee on the welfare of the backward classes found that the Muslims held just 8% of the government jobs in the State, well short of 12% reserved for them".
"Hence unless a vigorous effort to educate Muslims on a massive scale is undertaken, even if reservation for the Muslim is accepted, it will take decades before it could cure the disease" ... Reservation in favour of the Muslims on the basis of religion is a highly emotive issue, and some communal political parties in search of such sensitive issue may exploit the situation resulting in the communal divide and a backlash from the majority community. This situation will be highly unfavourable for the Muslims, competing for jobs in private sector.
Reservation attaches a social stigma with it ...Reservation has not helped in solving the problem; its trial in other parts of the country is not advisable. ... Excellence in school level education is the most called-for-necessity to lift the Muslim community from ... state of backwardness ... (Source: The Azad Academy Journal, 1-31 December, 1997)
