Plea to declare Goa Muslims as OBCs pending
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, OCT 13
Goa’s Muslim organisations have moved the National Commission for Backward Classes for including the State’s Muslims in the Central list of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to enjoy reservations in Government employment and admissions in educational institutions.
Commission member A Ali Azizi told reporters on the eve of his retirement on Thursday that the public hearing fixed for entertaining their applications could not take place due to some technical reason but their requests are under process in the Commission.
He observed during a visit to Goa that there was no awareness in the Muslim community about the OBC reservation as none from the community was listed in the central or State list despite about 80 per cent belonging to the backward classes. It was on his initiative that applications were moved urging the Commission to declare them as OBCs, he said.
Only five communities in Goa are listed as OBCs under a Government notification of December 1996, but none of them are from the Muslim population, Azizi said.
Those in the Central list of the OBCs are washermen, including Christians, barbers, kolis and kharvis, including Christian kolis, nathjogis and gosavis.
