Church happy as India’s Supreme Court upholds Muslim quota
(March 29, 2010) Catholic Church officials have welcomed India’s Supreme Court upholding
the decision of southern India’s Andhra Pradesh state to set job quotas for Muslims.
India’s apex court on Thursday lifted a lower court stay on the Andhra Pradesh government’s
decision to reserve 4 percent of jobs and education places for economically backward
Muslims. Father Anthoniraj Thumma, secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Federation of
Churches, said the court ruling would pave the way for granting quotas for Christians
of low-caste origin, a demand the Church has been making for more than five decades.
The Indian Constitution allows such quotas for low-caste Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs.
Christians and Muslims are excluded under the pretext that their religions do not
recognize the caste system. Father Thumma says the Supreme Court has agreed that
the Andhra reservation was not based on religion but on backwardness. Father Cosmon
Arokiaraj, secretary of the Indian bishops’ commission that looks after the affairs
of low-caste and tribal groups, also welcomed the ruling, hoping it will be precedent
for the rights of low-caste Christians too. He said the Church has been fighting
for equal rights for low-caste Christians and Muslims without considering their religion.