A major reservation row broke out in West Bengal after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government included the Muslim community in the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota without due diligence, only to cater to her party’s minority vote bank. Notably, the All Indian Trinamool Congress administration not only continued but even added to the appeasement policy adopted by the previous Communist Party of India (Marxist) government in the state. Now, the AITC regime is being slammed for arbitrarily introducing 77 castes, 75 of whom are Muslim, into the OBC category.
In a landmark judgment on Wednesday (22nd May) this year, the Calcutta High Court had cancelled Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates issued to 77 groups by the Left and Trinamool Congress governments between 5th March 2010 and 11th May 2012.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government filed an affidavit and defended its decision in the Supreme Court after a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud in its 5th August order sought details regarding the procedure adopted for inclusion in the OBC category. However, the astounding details in it revealed the extent to which it flouted all norms to pander to its Muslim voters.
Complex 3-tier process, but many red flags
The government claimed that the OBC list was expanded through a complex three-tier process which involved two surveys and a hearing by the Commission for Backward Classes, reported The Times of India. On the other hand, it was unveiled that for some Muslim groups, the process was concluded in less than a day, which otherwise would have been an impossibility given the complexity of the work and the rate at which government machinery operates.
The Khotta Muslim community applied on 13th November 2009 and they were made part of the OBC list by the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes recommended on the same day. Likewise, the Jamadar Muslim group which submitted an application on 21st April 2010 was awarded the OBC category, the very same day. The OBC Commission acted with equally surprising speed. It recommended the incorporation of Gayen and Bhatia Muslim communities within a day, the Chutor Mistri Muslim community in four days and the addition of a dozen other Muslim groups to the OBC list in less than a month.
There were instances where the sub-categorization survey was carried out even before community members applied to the Commission to be put in the OBC category. While surveys for Kazi, Kotal, Hazari, Layek, Khas and some other Muslim communities were completed in June 2015, their applications were submitted considerably later, even a year or two afterwards. “It was only after a detailed enquiry and/or upon consideration of the material before it in oral or documentary nature, that a final report on each of the 34 communities was prepared along with the final recommendation by the Commission,” the West Bengal government claimed in the apex court.
According to the affidavit presented by Abhijit Mukherjee, the process begins with an application by communities who intend to be included in the OBC list, providing information about the name of the class, its population size, its concentration area, as well as social, educational, marital, occupational and economic data. Abhijit Mukherjee is the additional secretary and ex-officio joint commissioner of reservation at the backward classes welfare department. The affidavit asserted that the state meticulously adhered to the three-tier process.
The commission conducts field surveys through its members (before 2012) or through the Cultural Research Institute (CRI) of the state government and the anthropologists working with them (after 2012) upon the filing of a request. The commission notifies the public of the application hearing and any opposition to the claim during such a survey. The commission reviews documents, poll responses, questions and evidence presented at public hearings before making a decision on whether to approve or disapprove the proposal. The state stated that this recommendation is “ordinarily binding” on the government upon acceptance and introduces the group to the OBC list. The cabinet is then asked to approve it and is subsequently published in the official gazette following the authorization.
On 5th August the Supreme Court directed the West Bengal administration to “explain the process” used to classify 77 communities as OBC between 2010 and 2012, as well as the type of survey that was conducted on the two issues of social and educational backwardness and inadequate representation in state services. Mamata Banerjee’s government lodged an appeal against a Calcutta High Court ruling to revoke the inclusion of such communities in the OBC list without conforming to the proper protocol. Notably, the Supreme Court declined to halt the High Court order.
Observations of Calcutta High Court
In May this year, a two-judge bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha had cancelled the Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates issued to 77 groups by the Left and Trinamool Congress governments between 5th March 2010 and 11th May 2012. The judges observed that the West Bengal administration utilized the Sachar Committee Report of 2006 “extensively” which notoriously concluded that Muslims in India were in worse condition than members of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The Sachar Committee Report used by the state to support the claims of backwardness of Muslims and classify them as OBCs lacked constitutional validity, per the Calcutta High Court.
The court also took issue with the West Bengal government-appointed Commission’s negligence in failing to execute a thorough investigation to ascertain the degree of social deprivation of the groups admitted into the OBC category. It made clear that it is untenable to notify OBC categories between 2011 and 2022 based solely on the out-of-date Mandal Commission report.
Additionally, the Calcutta High Court noted that by passing the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012 and eliminating the Commission’s involvement in the process of identifying new OBCs, the West Bengal government had engaged in a “fraud on the Constitutional power of the State.” The erudite judges further emphasized how the Commission disregarded constitutional provisions in order to classify Muslims as OBCs.
The court further pointed out that the University of Calcutta’s Anthropology Department collaborated with the earlier Left government to justify the decision to announce the first group of new OBCs centred only on religious criteria. The West Bengal administration was harshly criticized by the judges for treating Muslims as a “political commodity” and employing them to further its political agenda.
“I don’t accept Calcutta High Court’s verdict. OBC reservation will continue as it is,” Mamata Banerjee declared after the Calcutta High Court cancelled around five lakh OBC certificates issued after 2010 by her government. The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) discovered in June 2023 that OBC certificates had been issued to Rohingyas and undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh in West Bengal. NCBC further found that, although Hindus make up the majority population in West Bengal, there were more Muslim OBC castes in the state.
Background of the controversy
66 classes were designated as OBCs between 1994 and 2009 by the CPIM government, which ruled the state prior to TMC. The Muslim community comprised about 12 of the classes. The CPIM government issued seven executive orders between 5th March and 10th September 2010 recognizing 42 additional classes as OBCs, presumably with the 2011 elections in mind. The Muslim community accounted for forty-one of them. As a result, these new groups qualified for representation and reservations in jobs offered by the West Bengal government. A 10% reservation for Muslims in government positions was also announced by the CPIM in February 2010 to further accommodate its Muslim voting bank.
Mamata Banerjee maintained the Left regime’s appeasement policy after taking office as chief minister of West Bengal in May 2011. An additional 35 new classes were established as OBCs by the TMC administration in an executive order dated 11th May 2012. Thirty-four of the classes, predictably, belonged to the Muslim community and in just two years, the Left and TMC governments added 77 new classes (75 of which belonged to the Muslim minority) to the OBC group. The 77 groups were further divided into OBC A (More Backward) and OBC B (Backward) categories by the Mamata Banerjee government, which also passed the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.
A man named Amal Chandra Das filed the first petition on 18th January 2011, contesting the Left government’s decision. He questioned the decision to designate 42 castes as OBCs based only on religious beliefs. He emphasized that the survey performed by the Commission, which was established by the West Bengal government to help with the identification of OBCs, was prefabricated and the classification was not based on any reliable evidence.
From 2012 until 2020, Amal Chandra Das, Purabi Das and Atmadeep filed three more petitions contesting the constitutionality of the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012, as well as a number of its provisions. All four petitions were tagged and heard concurrently in the Calcutta High Court which pronounced its decision on 22nd May.
