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CtrlAltDel wrote:FLASH: AP High Court has stayed this order...![]()
http://inhome.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/22ap.htm




Religious quotas have been used before with disastrous results. They were in place in Kashmir when I was growing up. The Muslim quota was filled by the children of the Muslim elite in Srinagar, and the poor communities from Srinagar and the rural areas felt left out. I believe one of the main causes of the Kashmir revolt that began in 1990 was the frustration of the common man with stifling governmental control over public life, exemplified by such policy.
One can foresee new problems in Andhra. What if someone named Ramakrishnan writes on his form that he is a Muslim? Would he then be eligible for the Muslim quota? Or, would the government insist that only those who have Arabic or Persian names are eligible?
What if Ramakrishnan has truly converted to Islam and decided to keep his name? This should not be disallowed because the language of the name and religion need not be coupled. Indonesian Muslims continue to have Sanskrit names (example, Megawati Sukarnoputri). I know Americans with 'Christian names' who are Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims.
Will the government draw up regulations regarding who qualifies to be a Muslim? Will one have to go to the mosque a certain number of times to be certified?
Now suppose Ramakrishnan has truly converted to Islam and been admitted to college and subsequently to a government job out of the religious quota. Further, suppose he has a change of heart and becomes a Hindu again. Will he lose his job?
What if someone has a Persian or an Arabic sounding name, but is actually a Hindu?
One can think of other equally perplexing possibilities. To deal with them, the government will have to get into the personal life of individuals; the bureaucracy will have to be expanded. One can even think of thought police. Was this the intent of placing the term 'secular' in the Constitution of the nation in the seventies?


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