This National Convention on Reservation in Education is the result of a series of conventions held at Calicut on 4th August 2006, Bangalore on 5th August 2006 and Chennai on 17th August 2006 as a move for social justice by ensuring effective participation of backward classes in the fields of administration and education through reservation as enshrined in the constitution. This convention is also a meaningful step towards fulfilling the resolutions of All India Milli Council Convention held at New Delhi on 24th July 2006 and South India Council Workshop held at Hyderabad on 26th & 27th November 2005.
This convention congratulates all the participants and dignitaries who have assembled here from different parts of India.
This convention appreciates the efforts of the UPA Government for tabling the Central Education Institutions (Reservation on Admission) Bill 2006 on 25th August 2006, opening the gateways of education to the OBCs who are the marginalized sections of the Indian society. We declare our outright and whole-hearted support to the move. We oppose all the fascist and the other vested interest groups who are against social justice and inform them that nothing could stop us from achieving the right to reservation.
This convention appreciates those who enabled the bill to see the light of the day. Though the bill is a positive step in providing justice to the oppressed sections of the society, the way the bill is opposed and finally gets diluted is a matter for great concern for us.
The bill is presented on the last day of the monsoon session and referred to Standing Committee of the Parliament, contrary to the promises and expectations that the bill would be fully discussed and adopted in the current session itself. The reference to Standing Committee has created apprehensions in the minds of the depressed classes.
The bill is a complete dilution as it provides for reservation in phased manner. The fight for social justice through reservation is six decades old. Very many generations have lost the chances of entering into the higher institutions of learning. The downtrodden and the deprived sections were denied their rightful share for a long time. After all these years a bill came in the Parliament only to get deferred. This is a betrayal. The government should not have yielded to the minute oppositions and the exaggerated opinions of a few privileged classes and disappointed the vast majority of the citizens.
The present bill does not provide reservation in private educational institutions. It has exempted a good number the institutions of excellence and research centers. It means that certain institutions have been kept away from the reach of 52% OBCs.
This convention firmly demands that the government should adopt the bill in the next session of the Parliament with necessary amendments for implementation in one go. The bill should also provide reservation in private institutions and all R&D institutions.
Though this convention is meant for reservation in education for OBCs, it cannot overlook the urgent need for providing quota reservation for Muslims. Though Muslims are also part of OBC the community as a whole is not coming under OBC. This can be solved only by providing separate reservation for Muslims. This is the only way to empower the largest minority in India which is otherwise relegated to backwardness permanently. Also this convention demands that even those Muslim groups who are included in OBC are per Mandal report do not get the benefit since the forward among the backwards are drawing the benefit. Hence separate quota for Muslim OBCs has to be provided within the 27% OBC quota. Also this convention supports the demand for issuing a presidential decree extending schedule cast benefits to those Muslim groups who are engaged in the same occupations as their Dalit counterparts.
Lastly, this convention calls upon the Muslim organizations, intellectuals and social activists to come forward for launching an All India Movement for Reservation.
