The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Reservation issue

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Friday, Jul 23, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Reservation issue

Sir, — I refer to the Andhra Pradesh Government's proposal to provide five per cent reservation to Muslims in education and employment. There is no gainsaying that the community is backward in the State. The Rajasekhara Reddy Government's move is in the right direction.

A. Kamaludeen,
Tiruchi, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — Muslims in Andhra Pradesh are economically and educationally backward. So they need reservation. As for the argument that the move is unconstitutional or divisive, so many groups have been given the benefit of reservation. When that did not create disharmony, why should reservation for Muslims alone disturb harmony? Communal harmony is fostered by the feeling that we are all fellow Indians.

Sheikh Imran,
Guntur, A.P.

* * *

Sir, — The argument that reservation for Muslims will trigger conversions is baseless. Our cultural fabric is not so slender as to make people fall prey to five per cent reservation. The Muslim community in Andhra Pradesh mostly comprises daily-wage earners, beedi workers, and other poverty-ridden labour. Reservation will certainly help the community.

S.M. Basha,
Kurnool, A.P.

* * *

Sir, — Equality of power and opportunities among people of various castes and communities will ultimately pave the way for a casteless, egalitarian society. A Dalit-OBC-minorities alliance must be forged to strengthen the anti-caste movement and make social justice a reality.
G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — Reservation, as envisaged by the makers of the Constitution, has been distorted. What was meant for the benefit of members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes for a limited period has been widened over the years to include religion.

In a country like ours where a substantial percentage of the population is very poor, reservation based on caste and religion is pernicious. It is time we changed the system and made it work on the basis of economics.

P.V.P.M. Rao,
Hyderabad

* * *

Sir, — By announcing reservation for Muslims, Rajasekhara Reddy has driven a wedge between Muslims and other communities. Instead, efforts should be made to bring them into the mainstream. If religion-based reservation is encouraged for short-term political gains, it will assume alarming proportions.

Jyothi B. Shetty,

Bangalore

* * *

Sir, — The reservation issue is now hogging the limelight in Kerala too. The recommendations of the Narendran Commission, it seems, will further divide the communities in the State. The Muslim League is insisting that the recommendations for reservation in government jobs be implemented.

Government jobs are the only recourse for many in the State where no significant industry or business has flourished. If reservation is implemented, it will sow the seeds of unrest in a State that has had no serious communal clashes so far.

P.R.J. Pradeep,
Thiruvananthapuram

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