“Karnataka Govt defends scrapping 4% Muslim quota; states reservation on religious grounds militates against secularism”, Organiser, April 26, 2023:
“The BJP-led Karnataka Government has submitted an affidavit, defending its decision to scrap the almost three-decade-old four percent reservation provided to Muslims in the ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBC) category, to the Supreme Court stating that reservation solely based on religion is unconstitutional since not only it violates Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India, but also militates against the principles of social justice and secularism.
The affidavit reads, “The aim of reservation, as envisaged in the Constitution, is to promote social justice by providing affirmative action to those who have historically been marginalized and discriminated against in society.
The same has been enshrined in Articles 14 to 16 of the Constitution of India….The backward classes have been referred to as a “collection of certain castes” by none less than Dr BR Ambedkar. The whole point being there were socially and educationally backward classes in society who have been historically deprived and discriminated against. The same cannot be equated with an entire religion….”
Read the full article at Organiser.org
