Muslim communities gathered in protest across India’s Karnataka State on 27 March to call for the restoration of a 4% reservation quota which has been guaranteed to the community for almost three decades.

Since 1994, the reservation quota in Karnataka State has entitled Muslims to approximately 300 medical places, 1700 engineering places, and 50 dental studies places in colleges and universities, and an estimated 2,000 jobs annually. However, during a cabinet meeting on 24 March the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) removed the quota.

The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, removed the 2b category under the Other Backward Castes list and chose to distribute the quota evenly between the Lingayat and Vokkaliga Hindu castes. Muslims are now placed in the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category, which refers to families whose total annual income is less than 800,000 Indian Rupees (approximately GBP £7,800). The EWS category includes Hindu caste groups such as the Brahmins and Jains, with whom Muslims will now have to compete for access to jobs and education.

CSW sources are concerned that the move is designed to secure votes from the Hindu religious majority ahead of state elections, which are due on 10 May. There has been a notable shift in public discourse across India since the BJP came to power in 2014, with the party’s ideological arm, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), promoting a Hindu nationalist agenda which has emboldened extremist groups to harass and attack religious minorities with impunity.

Journalist and political analyst HC Hombal told CSW: ‘Karnataka will soon face one of the most polarised elections and there is a huge attempt to woo the Lingayats. As the Lingayat vote share is about 17 percent in Karnataka, it plays a vital role in deciding the Chief Minister. So far, 60 percent of the CMs (Chief Ministers) belonged to this community. They are dominant in every sense, be it business, administration, IAS officers, education, etc. They are the largest land holding community.’

Although the ruling party defended its stance by stating that the quota, which entitled Muslims to reservations in government jobs and admission in educational institutions, should not be awarded on the basis of religion, CSW sources maintain this is not justifiable, as Muslims were initially given the quota to facilitate their economic and social advancement, and not due to their religious status.

There are concerns that the scrapping of this quota will affect the education of Muslim girls, who already face several barriers to education, including a controversial Hijab ban which has resulted in almost 1,000 girls dropping out of their educational institutions since December 2021.

In addition, in December 2022, the central government in New Delhi cancelled the Maulana Azad Fellowship, which was designed to provide financial assistance to students from the Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Muslim, Parsi and Sikh communities. There was no explanation given for this cancellation, which will make it even more difficult for religious minority students to access education.

CSW’s Head of Advocacy Khataza Gondwe said: ‘Our concern is that the removal of the reservation quota for Muslims in Karnataka State will further disadvantage an already marginalised community, and that such arbitrary policies could have a knock-on effect, prompting other states to adopt the same position towards their Muslim populations. We join calls for this quota to be restored and urge the BJP at the state and national level to do far more to create an inclusive India in which people of all religions and beliefs are treated equally.’