Brahmins up in arms against Bommai govt’s bid to reallot 6% EWS quota to Vokkaligas, Lingayats

In the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly elections, slated for April-May, the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government had on December 29 decided to reclassify Vokkaligas and Lingayats as “moderately backward”, proposing the carving out of two new OBC categories for them by using their existing four and five per cent quota respectively and adding 6 per cent EWS quota to the mix.

The BJP government’s decision to redistribute six per cent EWS quota between the two dominant communities

was taken amid an agitation by Panchamasali Lingayats, a sub-sect of Lingayats, for access to the 15 per cent quota available to OBC groups and a demand from Vokkaligas for 12 per cent OBC quota.

The Bommai Cabinet’s decision has been widely seen as a BJP’s bid to woo the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities — which make up about 17 and 15 per cent of Karnataka’s population respectively — ahead of the Assembly polls.

In essence, the BJP government decided that 10 per cent EWS quota was in excess of the percentage of the population of upper caste communities in the state, which has been estimated to be around four per cent.

While the agitating Panchamasali Lingayats have rejected the government’s decision and have warned the BJP of “consequences” in the state polls, the Brahmin community, which accounts for about two per cent of the state’s population, is also enraged.

The Akhila Karnataka Brahmana Mahasabha has declared that the government’s decision to re-allocate the EWS quota to other communities is “unacceptable” to the Brahmin community.“Even on the demands to provide 10 percent reservation to the EWS the state government did not make up its mind for many years. Now they have taken a decision to divide the 10 per cent EWS reservation and give it to certain communities and limit Brahmins to only 2 or 3 percent,” Ashok Haranahalli said.

Haranahalli argued that the communities enjoying quotas under the socially backward categories cannot be provided the EWS category quota as per the 2019 constitutional amendment. “The government wants to give reservations under EWS to communities that already enjoy benefits. This has led to displeasure among the Brahmins about the government and its anti-Brahmin policy. The community was already upset with the state government for not implementing the EWS category reservation,” he said.

The Akhila Karnataka Brahmin Mahasabha chief has urged the Brahmin community in Karnataka to oppose the government’s move.

The eventual increase in reservation for Lingayats and Vokkaligas by re-allocating to them 6 per cent EWS quota will be based on the Karnataka Backward Classes Commission’s population assessment in its final report, state law minister J C Madhuswamy had said after the December 29 Cabinet meeting. “This assessment is likely to be completed in three months,” he had said, adding that the increased reservation percentage for the 2C (Vokkaligas) and 2D (Lingayats) categories will be then announced.

The Commission’s final report may however not be presented until the upcoming elections.

While the EWS quota could have political traction in some belts where upper castes are concentrated, it may also boomerang in these regions, given that the backward communities make up nearly 90 per cent of the state’s population. In Karnataka, Muslims and Christians also have quotas under the socially backward categories.

Following the objections raised by the Akhila Karnataka Brahman Mahasabha, CM Bommai has assured the community that he will discuss the issue with legal experts before taking any final decision.

Karnataka’s current reservations

Total reservations – 56 %

With addition of 10 % EWS quota – 66 %

SC ceiling on reservations – 50 %

Proposed Karnataka reservations