• Historical records prove Muslim OBC classification is decades old, not a Congress move
• BJP’s own governments recognise Muslim OBCs, yet spreading false claims in Telangana

Hyderabad, February 18: Advisor to the Telangana Government for SC, ST, OBC, and Minorities, Mohammed Ali Shabbir, accused the BJP of misleading the people by falsely alleging that the Congress government in Telangana had newly included Muslims in the OBC category through the recent Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political, and Caste Survey. He said the BJP was distorting facts to create communal divisions and provoke non-Muslim OBCs against the Congress government.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday, Shabbir Ali slammed Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay, and Rajya Sabha MP Dr K Lakshman, stating that their claims were not only factually incorrect but also hypocritical, as BJP-led governments at the Centre and in several states had also classified Muslim communities as OBCs. He accused BJP leaders of playing divisive politics and deliberately twisting historical facts to mislead backward classes. He pointed out that Muslim communities had been part of the OBC list for several decades, under governments led by both Congress and BJP.

Shabbir Ali backed his argument with historical reports and government records proving that multiple commissions had recognized Muslim backward communities as OBCs long before the Congress government came to power in Telangana. He said he would send copies of these reports to BJP leaders via email and speed post, offering to meet them personally if they needed any clarification. However, he ridiculed BJP leaders for speaking like ignorant people despite holding high positions in the government and having access to the same official records.

He said BJP was deliberately creating fear among non-Muslim OBCs, falsely claiming that Muslim reservations were reducing their opportunities. He clarified that the 4% reservation for Muslim OBCs in Telangana was a separate quota under Group E, meaning it did not affect the share of non-Muslim OBCs. He said the BJP was well aware of this but was spreading lies for political mileage. He reminded that BJP governments in multiple states had followed the same OBC classification for Muslims, proving that their accusations were politically motivated and hypocritical.

On the pending Supreme Court case on the 4% Muslim OBC reservation, Shabbir Ali said the case was not about eligibility but about technical aspects of reservation policy implementation. He said the Telangana government was not creating a new category but only ensuring the proper implementation of the existing quota.

Citing data from the recent caste survey, he said 10.08% of Telangana’s Muslims belong to OBC categories, while 2.48% are in the OC category, proving that only truly backward groups were classified as OBCs. He said this reaffirmed that the 4% reservation was based on socio-economic conditions, not religion. He emphasized that the OBC classification was never religion-based, as many Hindu OBC communities shared similar socio-economic conditions as Muslim OBC groups. He said BJP was trying to communalize an issue that was purely about backwardness.

He accused the BJP of politicizing an established reality, saying that the judiciary and multiple governments had upheld the inclusion of Muslim OBCs for decades. He questioned why the BJP’s own central government and BJP-ruled states continued to recognize Muslim OBCs if they truly opposed it. He said the BJP’s statements in Telangana were misleading and designed to provoke hostility between different backward communities.

Shabbir Ali traced the historical inclusion of Muslim backward classes in the OBC list, citing official commissions and reports that had recommended their classification over the years. He referred to the Hunter Commission Report (1882), which found that Muslims were economically and educationally backward and required special attention. He cited the Miller Committee Report (1918), which classified several Muslim communities in the Madras Presidency as Backward Classes for educational benefits. He recalled the Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1955), which identified several Muslim groups, including Ansari (weavers), Qureshi (butchers), Julaha (textile workers), Dudekula (cotton cleaners), and Mehtar (sanitation workers), as backward.

He said that long before the Mandal Commission (1980), many states had already classified Muslim communities as OBCs. Tamil Nadu recognized Muslim backward groups in 1951 and 1971, Kerala included Mappila Muslims in 1957, Mysore (now Karnataka) identified Muslim OBCs in the 1960s-1970s, and Andhra Pradesh had classified Dudekula, Pinjari, Laddaf, Qureshi, and other Muslim groups as backward in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also mentioned the Havanur Commission (1975) in Karnataka and the Andhra Pradesh State Backward Classes Commission (1970s), which had included Muslim OBCs before the Mandal Commission formalized the classification in 1980.

Shabbir Ali reminded that the 4% Muslim reservation in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh was implemented in 2004 under Congress CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy. He said both the Andhra Pradesh High Court (2005) and the Supreme Court (2010) upheld it, proving that the policy was legally and constitutionally valid. He clarified that Muslim OBCs had been part of Telangana’s Group E category for decades and that the current Congress government had not made any new additions.

Listing the Muslim OBC groups recognized in Telangana, he mentioned Achchukattalavandlu, Attar Saibulu, Dhobi Muslim, Garadi Muslim, Gosangi Muslim, Guddi Eluguvallu, Hajjam, Labbi, Pakeerla, Qureshi, Siddi, Turaka Kasha, among others. He also pointed out that certain Muslim communities were included in Groups A and B based on occupation, such as Dudekula, Laddaf, Pinjari, Noorbash (cotton cleaners) in Group A and Are Katika, Khatika, Qureshi (butchers) in Group B.

Exposing the BJP’s hypocrisy, he said the Modi government at the Centre continues to include Muslim communities in the OBC list. He pointed out that BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Assam also have Muslim OBC reservations. He highlighted that in 2016, the Modi government added 17 Muslim communities to the OBC list in West Bengal and that BJP’s Karnataka government maintained the 4% OBC quota for Muslims before attempting to scrap it in 2023, a move that was later struck down by the courts.

Shabbir Ali said BJP’s claims were nothing but an attempt to mislead and communalize the issue for political benefits. He challenged BJP leaders to explain why their own governments followed the same OBC classification if they truly opposed it. He said backward communities, regardless of their religion, deserved equal opportunities for upliftment and that the BJP was only using the OBC issue to divide society. He urged the BC communities not to fall for BJP’s propaganda and to recognize the long-standing reality of Muslim OBC classification in Telangana and across India. (eom)