‘Forward Muslims included among EBCs’: BJP finds counterplay to Oppn’s caste census demand

To establish that the caste survey exercise is “appeasement politics”, the BJP has claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his predecessor Lalu Prasad included Muslim forward castes in the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) category, thereby depriving “genuine EBCs” among Hindus. EBCs are Nitish’s core support base.

“From 1996 to 2013, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar tried to incorporate the forward Muslims into the EBC category. By adding the well-educated and ruling-class Muslims in the EBC category, these two leaders and their parties have not only done injustice to the genuine EBCs in the Hindu community but also Muslims,” senior MP and former Bihar BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal told The Indian Express. “Interestingly, both these leaders have assimilated Muslims into the EBC community with executive orders. This has taken all the reservation meant for the genuine EBCs.”

Jaiswal alleged that the caste data had only served as the “appeasement tactics” of the ruling combine in the state. “And this is a violation of B R Ambedkar’s original spirit and intention regarding reservation. In fact, the Sarkaria Commission and Mandal Commission recommended only those who are originally lower castes should be given reservation.”

The Muslims of Seemanchal

State BJP leaders said the Thakurai, Shekhora, and Kulaiya Muslim communities were treated as forward groups but were added to the EBC list in the last few years. Kulaiya Sheikh Muslims, they said, were those whose ancestors were from Yemen and came to India with the Mughals. During the tenure of RJD leader Mohammad Taslimuddin as the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs these groups were categorised as EBCs.

“If you look into the EBCs of Seemanchal, you would not find a single original Hindu one. At least seven per cent of EBCs added to the list in the past are such forward-caste Muslims,” said Jaiswal.

Senior BJP leaders said the caste survey report was unlikely to have any major impact on its prospects as it has been empowering even the numerically smaller backward communities by providing them opportunities in the organisation as well as the list of poll candidates. The BJP’s social-engineering formula and the OBC status of PM Modi, whose appeal transcends caste lines, helped the BJP shed its upper-caste Baniya party and rally the backward communities behind it since 2014, especially in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The BJP has joined hands with parties representing various backward groups such as Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party, Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular).

Former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi said the BJP was not worried as the EBC community had backed the party in previous elections. “The EBC community in Bihar stood by the BJP in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Assembly elections, and the party won two of the three by-elections in the recent past. Nitish Kumar polarised non-Yadavs against Yadavs. In 2014, he thought he would get the Muslim EBC votes because he opposed Narendra Modi. But 90% of the EBCs voted for Modi. With Nitish fading, BJP has more chances to get the EBCs behind it.”

BJP leaders said there could be demands for quota increase but it would not adversely affect the party’s prospects. The BJP has been reluctant about a caste count despite repeated demands from its allies such as the Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the Republican Party of India (Athawale).