As NCBC recommends removals of 35 groups from Bengal’s Central OBC list, read how Mamata’s TMC govt pursued its votebank agenda amid blatant Muslim appeasement

On 2nd December, the central government informed that the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) proposed the withdrawal of 35 communities, majority Muslim, from the Central list of Other Backward Class (OBC) in West Bengal. The important disclosure was made by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in the Lok Sabha.

NCBC issued its recommendation in January 2025. The panel reviewed 37 groups in 2014, most of which were Muslim communities, that were part of the Central OBC list and suggested that 35 communities be removed. West Bengal initially sought 46 communities for Central OBC classification in 2011, and 37 were approved and notified by the NCBC in 2014. However, the commission later began a re-examination of these entries.

The NCBC’s action transpired after West Bengal’s Chief Secretary repeatedly failed to appear at proceedings on the incorporation of castes and communities on the list. According to the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, the official skipped five scheduled hearings in 2024 amounting to procedural issues and disputes between the state and the commission.

TMC disregards regulations, bypasses proper procedure to include Muslims in OBC list

The blatant Muslim appeasement strategy pursued by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) is neither concealed nor unrecorded. On the contrary, the party is recognised for its extensive efforts to accommodate Muslims, irrespective of any illegality or breaches of norms or regulations.

These actions have been consistently criticised even by the judiciary. On 22nd May 2024, the Calcutta High Court, in a historic verdict, announced the cancellation of OBC certificates issued to 77 groups. The Left and TMC governments have distributed the documents from 5th March 2010 to 11th May 2012.

The TMC government not only persisted with the Muslim appeasement policies of the former Left governments but also intensified them. It implemented the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012, and classified the 77 categories into OBC A (More Backward) and OBC B (Backward).

Four pleas were submitted to the high court, contesting the religiously motivated decision made by the Left and TMC governments on the basis of constitutional validity and different provisions of the act enacted by TMC.

The petitioners charged that the commission established by the West Bengal government to identify OBCs had “illegally” focused exclusively on the Muslim minority. It did not bother comparing the 77 classes to the unreserved categories to figure out if the newly included classes under the OBC fold were “inadequately represented.”

They emphasised that the commission merely surveyed 5% of the population from the 77 classes, rather than the complete population as required under the Indra Sawhney judgement. Additionally, they stressed that the West Bengal commission for Backward Classes Act of 1993 was directly flouted by the sub-classification of the new 77 groups into the OBC-A and OBC-B categories without consulting the body.

Meanwhile, the Department of Anthropology at the University of Calcutta carried out an independent study and produced an executive summary to support the classification of the recently admitted “Muslim” OBCs after the government decided to label a number of classes within the community as “backward.”

The petitioners referred to the “collusion and illegal and unholy nexus between the commission and the state.” They argued that the latter straightaway admitted to acting and recommending classes as OBCs at the direction of the government.

Calcutta High Court exposes glaring shortcomings, fraud and struck down 5 lakh OBC certificates

The case was heard by a bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha, which considered the reasons presented by the West Bengal government and the petitioners. Afterward, the court invalidated 5 lakh OBC certificates issued since 5th March 2010.

The judges highlighted that the controversial Sachar Committee Report was “extensively” relied upon by the West Bengal government. According to the alleged survey, Muslims in India faced harder living conditions than Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

The commission, which was established by the West Bengal government, received flak by the court for its leniency in failing to carry out a thorough survey to ascertain the backwardness of the castes included in the OBC category. It emphasised that relying on an outdated Mandal Commission report to update OBC categories between 2011 and 2022 was untenable.

The bench also found that the West Bengal government perpetrated “fraud on the constitutional power of the state” by adopting the aforementioned act and dismissing the commission’s role in designating additional OBCs. It observed that the commission undermined constitutional provisions by include Muslims in the OBC category.

The court further outlined that the University of Calcutta’s Anthropology Department collaborated with the Left government to justify the decision to notify the first set of new OBCs purely on the grounds of religion. It is essential to highlight that the TMC government relied on the same religious foundation to impose the appeasement agenda.

The West Bengal government faced heat by the judges for treating Muslims like “political commodities” and taking advantage of them in order to win elections.

TMC refuses to follow the order, approaches the Supreme Court

Predicatbly, the TMC government refused to adhere to the judgement and approached the Supreme Court after its significant humiliation for following a communal agenda. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared, “We do not accept the ruling that nullified OBC certificates. We will challenge it in a higher court after the summer vacation,” during an election rally in Sagar, South 24 Parganas district.

Nonetheless, the affidavit submitted by her government in the apex court also unveiled a similar story. According to the government, a complicated three-tier procedure that included two surveys and a hearing by the commission for Backward Classes was implemented to broaden the OBC list.

However, it was revealed that for some Muslim groups, the process was completed in less than a day. However, it would have been inconceivable considering the intricate nature of the work and the rate with which government machinery functions. The OBC commission responded at an equally remarkable pace. The subcategorisation survey was conducted before community members applied to the commission to be defined as OBCs, in some cases.

These facts were disclosed after the West Bengal government was ordered by the court to “explain the process” employed in identifying 77 communities as OBC between 2010 and 2012. It also requested information about the type of survey that was undertaken on the two areas of social and educational backwardness and inadequate representation in state services.

Furthermore, the state’s petition to the top court was received with a stern warning that religion cannot be the basis for reservations.

TMC govt introduces new bill, majority reservation to Muslims

The West Bengal government completed another OBC survey in June, that proposed the inclusion of 140 additional sub-groups within the category. It also indicated that the current 17% OBC reservation policy will continue in place. The survey was prepared in accordance with recommendations made by the West Bengal Backward Classes Commission (WBCBC), which was recently approved by the state cabinet.

The OBC reservations are divided into two categories. The first category, known as “OBC A,” offers 10% reservation to 81 communities, 56 of which are Muslim. The second category, “OBC B,” stipulates 7% reservation and contains 99 communities, 41 of which are Muslim. As a result, the state has 97 Muslim communities out of 180 in total. Clearly, a major portion of the total OBC reservation is designated for Muslim populations.

The admission of 76 new communities increased West Bengal’s OBC reservation from 10% to 17%. 64 out of the 66 previously recognised communities had been maintained.

Calcutta High Court blocks new OBC list notification

The Calcutta High Court slapped an interim stay on the preparation and publication of a revised list of OBC in the state, in June. The verdict followed complaints that the additional inclusions have been heavily biased along religious lines, breaking constitutional principles and previous judicial rulings.

The Mamata government’s attempt to restore and expand the OBC list was opposed by the petitioners, especially the inclusion of groups whose previous OBC designation had been overturned by the high court. The uproar grew as the administration increased OBC reservations from 7% to 17% just days before the court’s stay.

The shocking truth of Muslim reservation

There were 66 OBC classes in West Bengal prior to to 2010, the year the TMC came to power. 55 of these were non-Muslim and 11 were Muslim, making up barely 20% of the overall OBC groups at the time. However, the picture shifted substantially by 2025 as the state added 76 new classes to the OBC list.

These were divided into two parts. Part 1 with 51 new classes including 46 Muslim (90%) and Part 2 with 25 classes of which 21 were Muslim (84%). This unambiguously showed that the expansions were heavily biassed towards a particular religious community.

Similarly, the West Bengal Police Recruitment Board produced a recruitment drive merit list that went viral on social media, in 2021. It was aimed to fill state-wide OBC-A vacancies and nearly everyone on the list was a Muslim.

The OBC-A category contained 80 groups, 72 of whom were Muslim and there were around 40 Muslim groups in the OBC-B category. Thus, 112 of the 170 groups mentioned under the category were from the community.

Clearly, it has been repeatedly demonstrated how every rule and principal was disregarded by the Mamata government to unduly favour the Muslim community. However, TMC has not deviated from its malicious agenda despite multiple drubbings.

Mamata Banerjee’s shameless pandering to Muslims

The TMC’s desperate actions to ensure that Muslim communities are classified as OBCs are not unexpected, given the history of the party whose chief openly remarked, “Je goru dudh dei tar lathio khete hoi (if a cow gives milk, one has to be prepared for its kicks also),” in 2019. She essentially indicated that she would continue to appease Muslims as they vote for her and she needs their support to remain in power.

She added, “I like Muslims, no? I will go there (to Iftar parties) a hundred times,” while inviting others. Mamata, elected by the voters of every community, also possesses an uncanny inclination to employ derogatory language, including “kafir” used by Islamists and jihadis, to cater to Muslims.

“Jo darte hai wo marte hai, Jo ladte hai wo Kamyab hote hai, hum darpok nhi hai, hum kafir nhi hai, hum gaddar nhi hai. (Those who get scared end up losing, while those who put up a fight achieve victory, we are not cowards, we are not kafir),” she boasted, last year. The chief minister has repeatedly used the term, even on the day of the Pran Pratishtha of Ramlala to caution people against voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party and while addressing a gathering on the occasion of Eid.

Mamata had even chosen 16th August to mark “Khela Hobe Diwas,” which also happened to be “Direct Action Day,” in order to begin her campaign to oust the BJP from power in several states prior to the polls. Muhammad Ali Jinnah called on Muslims throughout India to mark Direct Action Day, commonly known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings, in which thousands of Hindus were butchered by Islamists from the Muslims Leagues on the streets of Kolkata.

However, Mamata announced that the “Khela Hobe” slogan would now be employed on the national arena and added that “Khela” will henceforth take place in every state till the BJP is expelled from the nation. The policies of her government are simply a reflection of her mindset.

TMC submits to Muslims, sacrifice rights of Hindus

Kolkata Municipal Council abolished the Vishwakarma Puja vacation to extend the Eid holidays, in Februray. The action sparked great controversy and the decision had to be reversed. The government’s tendency to postpone or completely halt significant Hindu festivals in favor of Islamic events is also well-documented.

A Durga Mandir was discovered to be blocked and barricaded in 2023 in Kaliachak town of West Bengal’s Malda district. The development occurred the day before the Islamic month of Muharram.

The Mamata government likewise decided in 2017 that there would be no idol immersion on 1st October as Muharram also fell on that day. This resulted in PILs after which the Calcutta High Court chastised the government and issued a stay order on the decree. The court also reprimanded it for wielding excessive power without justification.

The government later mandated that Durga Puja organisers obtain prior police permissions if they wish to immerse idols on Muharram, possibly in an attempt to get around the ruling. These permissions would also have to be submitted “well in advance.” The TMC politicians were also intended to persuade the Puja organisers not to immerse the idols on that day and make the “right” choice.

TMC government had also restricted idol immersion after 6 pm on Dashami Day in 2016 and 2017 to allow for the observance of Muharram. However, the high court had overturned the 2016 diktat and rebuked the government for “appeasing Muslims.”

The government has similarly turned a blind eye to the unrest perpetrated by the Islamists, whether it occurred in Naihati, where the sound of idol immersion during the Taziya procession and a firecracker provoked them to the extent that they beheaded the Durga idol and wreaked havoc, or the Murshidabad violence targeting Hindus, or the anti-Hindu riots in Malda and any such similar incident in the state.

The protests and demonstrations, marked by unchecked violence, against the Waqf Amendment Act and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) also reflect the same pattern. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee had even endorsed Waqf and described it as a “core belief” and a “integral part” of Islam. He added that anyone including Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others, should be entitled to donate land or property to a Waqf Board.

Importantly, TMC leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, have been involved in inciting violence against the policies of the central government and the BJP.

Unbridled hypocrisy and yielding to extremists

The TMC also exhibited alarming double standards in its approach to maintain “communal harmony.” The police from West Bengal traveled to Gurgaon to apprehend 22-year-old Hindu influencer Sharmishta Panoli due to her allegedly objectionable comments. However, it failed to cover a short distance to arrest Wazahat Khan from Kolkata, the individual who lodged the police complaint against Sharmishta Panoli, for his derogatory statements regarding Hindu deities.

Likewise, the clarion call from Mayor Firhad Hakim of Kolkata, a Cabinet Minister and a close confidant of Mamata Banerjee, to convert all non-Muslims to Islam did not disturb the peace and harmony. “Those who were not born into Islam were born with misfortune. If we can give them Dawat (call for proselytism) and bring Iman (Faith) in them, then, we will make Allah happy,” he voiced during “All India Quran Competition,” in 2024.

TMC MLA Humayun Kabir’s announcement regarding the establishment of a purported Babri-style mosque on 6th December was apparently another representation of religious tolerance and brotherhood. He also warned the administration National Highway 34 would be under the control of Muslims, if there were any attempts to prevent the event.

Considering how TMC fosters and defends such elements, which has been consistently evident, including in the Sandeshkhali episode, it is not surprising that party leaders make such statements without fear of repercussions. Vote-bank politics takes precedence over all, including national interest as well as law and order, for the party.

Conclusion

The TMC’s diabolical quest for Muslim votes has driven the party to vehemently oppose the vital Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bengal, fully aware that the state has become a sanctuary for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and its leaders have openly supported these elements.

The party’s outrageous fawning has even even extended beyond India’s boundaries and interests. Thus, the inclusion of the Muslim community in OBC is merely a minor point in the TMC’s overtly appeasement-ridden policies, which have corrupted the phrase “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” by substituting “people” with Muslims.