Jamaat-e-Islami Hind calls for sub-quota for Muslims, OBCs in women's reservation law

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind on Wednesday called for sub-quota for Muslims and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the law for reserving a third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.

President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the women's reservation bill on September 28, days after it was passed by Parliament. Now, it will be officially known as the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act.

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind also welcomed the Bihar caste survey, saying that it feels that a caste census is required at the national level to get the latest and updated data regarding the marginalised and deprived sections of society.

'Reservation in educational institutes and government jobs are provided based on caste identities. A caste census will help policy makers to design better policies and formulate more accurate welfare programmes,' the Muslim organisation said in a statement.

It said the women's reservation law does not address the stark social inequalities in a vast country like India by excluding OBC and Muslim women from its ambit.

'The political representation of Muslims in Parliament and state legislatures has been steadily declining. It is not proportionate to the size of their population. One of the many ways to remove inequality is affirmative action (reservation). Ignoring OBC and Muslim women in the women's reservation bill would be unjust and not in tune with the policy of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas',' the statement said.