West Bengal govt tells SC how some Muslims zipped into OBC list
OBC list, stating that the additions were made following an elaborate three-tier process, which included two surveys and a hearing by the Commission for Backward Classes, but let out that it completed this exercise in less than 24 hours in the case of certain Muslim communities.
On November 13, 2009, the Khotta Muslim community submitted an application, and the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes recommended its inclusion in the OBC list on the same day. Likewise, the Muslim Jamadar community's application was filed on April 21, 2010, and it was recommended for inclusion on that very day. This rapid response is notable given the usual pace of government processes and the complexity of the task.
The OBC Commission matched the astonishing alacrity and took just a day to recommend inclusion of Gayen (Muslim) and Bhatia Muslim communities in the list, four days for Muslim Chutor Mistri community, and less than a month for inclusion of a dozen other Muslim communities to the OBC list.
The affidavit of West Bengal govt, which is under fire for alleged arbitrary inclusion of 77 castes, 75 of them Muslims, was full of surprises. In some cases, the survey for sub-categorisation of communities was conducted even prior to community members filing an application before the Commission seeking their inclusion in the OBC list. Surveys for some Muslim communities — Kazi, Kotal, Hazari, Layek and Khas — were done in June 2015 but they had filed applications much later, in some cases after nearly a year or two.
“It was
