Jamia’s Minority Status: Politics Blurs Muslim Marginalisation

Politics over Jamia Milia Islamia’s minority status ignores the fact that there are excluded groups among Muslims.

(Photo: Rhythum Seth/The Quint)

The minority status of the Jamia Milia Islamia, or for that matter the status of all those educational institutions governed and administered by religious minorities, has emerged as a contentious issue. Although the discussion is still centered on Article 30 (1) of the Constitution (that ensures that ‘all minorities, religious or linguistic, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice’), this legal debate has taken a political turn.

Politics over minority status

• Jamia, established in 1920, became a central university in 1988 and has continued to function as a secular institution.
  
• Section 7 of the Jamia Act 1988 says, ‘it shall not be lawful for the university to adopt or impose on any person any test whatsoever of religious belief’.
  
• Creation of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) by UPA-I in 2004 gave a new twist to the minority status debate.
  
• The 2006 NCMEI judgement recognised Jamia as a Muslim minority institution in a case demanding 50% reservation for Muslims.
  
• Debate over Jamia’s minority status ignores the plight of excluded groups such as poor Muslims, Dalit Muslims and Muslim women.
  

Also Read: Is the Government Right to Withdraw Support for Jamia’s Minority Status?

Nationalism vs Secularism Debate

As expected, the debate on the minority status of Jamia operates in a nationalism versus secularism binary.

There are a few self-declared nationalists, who evoke unity and integrity of the nation (all Indians are one!) to oppose the privileges given to minorities (read: Muslims). The minority status of Jamia, thus, is described as an appeasement of minorities, which these commentators fear will encourage separatism and even terrorism!

A section of orthodox secularists (especially the Congress politicians), on the contrary, offer us an equally powerful defence. They argue that the secular parties are guardians of minority rights. The minority status of Jamia, they suggest, symbolises the democratic values of the Nehruvian idea of ‘unity in diversity’.

These two rather conflicting arguments, however, share a strong belief that minorities and especially the religious minorities are homogeneous groups. Therefore, there is no need to talk about the caste, class and gender-based disparities with regard to the ‘minority’ status of institutions like Jamia.

Also Read: Muslims’ Voting Patterns Show They do not Constitute a Vote Bank

Facts Related to the ‘Minority Status’

Jamia was established in 1920 by a section of Muslims as a ‘nationalist’ educational institution. It became a central university in 1988. The university continued to function as secular institution, yet its minority character has always been widely contested.

Section 7 of the Jamia Act 1988 is very relevant here. It says:

The University shall be open to persons of either sex and of whatever race, creed, caste or class and it shall not be lawful for the University to adopt or impose on any person any test whatsoever of religious belief or profession in order to entitle him to be admitted therein as a teacher or student….Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent the University from making appropriate provisions for reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the physically handicapped persons and women.

Section 7 of the Jamia Act 1988

This section makes it clear that the Jamia Act envisages the university as a secular institution.

The creation of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) in 2004 gave a new twist to the Jamia’s minority status debate.

The UPA-I established the NCMEI to respond to the promises it had made in its manifesto. This specific body was formed primarily to protect the rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

The NCMEI is a quasi-judicial body and has been endowed with the powers of a civil court.

Legal Obligation

The Jamia Teachers Association and the Jamia Old Boys Association filed petitions in 2006 to NCMEI demanding that at least 50 percent students from the Muslim community should be admitted. It was also argued that appropriate action should be taken against the vice chancellor and registrar of the university for non-implementation of mandate of the Jamia Millia Islamia Society.

It is worth noting that Anjuman-e-Talim-e-Milli was founded in 1928. It evolved as the Anjuman-e-Jamia Millia Islamia or the Jamia Society. One of the objectives of the society was:

…to promote and provide for the religious and secular education of Indians, particularly, Muslims, in conformity with sound principles of education and in consonance with the needs of national life as well as the life of the Muslim Community in India.

Responding to these arguments, the NCMEI in its judgement says:

‘(We)…have no hesitation in holding that the Jamia was founded by the Muslims for the benefit of Muslims and it never lost its identity as a Muslim minority educational institution’, hence, Jamia is a minority educational institution.

It is obvious from these facts that the minority status of Jamia is a complicated issue. The 1988 Act tells us that Jamia is open to all; and, it is bound to follow the reservation policy of the government of India. The NCMEI judgement, however, gives a different interpretation. It recognises Jamia as a Muslim minority institution.

Since the 93rd constitutional amendment ensures that the minority institutions are exempted to follow the reservation policy, it becomes possible for Jamia to provide reservation to Muslims.

Also Read: Religious Hues to OBC Category: Parties Misinterpret Mandal Panel

Who Deserves Reservation?

The post-2000 affirmative action policy discourse – the Sachar Commission Report, Rangnath Misra Commission Report and the Post-Sachar Evolution Report – tells us that Muslims can no longer be seen merely as a homogeneous religious community.

Gender, caste, regional disparity and class among Muslims are also important aspects, which have to be taken seriously.

In this sense, Muslim poor, Muslim Dalits and Muslim women are facing multiple forms of social, educational and economic exclusion. These groups are targeted because of their Muslim identity. At the same time, the dynamics of casteism and patriarchy within Muslim societies make them more vulnerable and marginalised.

This internal and specific Muslim marginalisation does not figure in the ‘secularism versus nationalism binary’. The so-called nationalists are not interested in the plight of excluded Muslim groups as it disturbs their one-nation-one-community slogan.

For the orthodox secularists, the category called ‘Muslim’ is more profitable as it helps them to carve out a political space for themselves.

Technically, there is a possibility to approach the minority status of Jamia from the vantage point of marginalised Muslims by following the Constitutional philosophy of reservation. It must be noted that the purpose of affirmative action is socio-economic and educational backwardness in India. In this sense, the Muslim reservation in Jamia could be stratified by giving preference to Muslim poor, Muslim Dalits, and Muslim women.

Such an egalitarian imagination, however, requires a strong determination in favour of social justice.

Also Read: AMU’s Minority Character: Question of Fact or Law?

(The writer is assistant professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, and Rajya Sabha Fellow 2015-2016. He can be reached @Ahmed1Hilal. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

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