CHENNAI, India (UCAN) -- Church leaders in Tamil Nadu have welcomed the southern Indian state's announcement of quotas for poor Muslims and Christians in government jobs and education."

The Christian community is very happy about this decision," Archbishop Peter Fernando of Madurai, told UCA News Sept. 14, a day after the media published the announcement. The decision will help Christians find more jobs and adequately represent themselves in government administration, said the Catholic prelate, who heads the Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council.

State Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi said in a Sept. 13 statement that his government wants to set aside 3.5-percent quotas each for Christians and Muslims who come from socially and economically poor communities.

Some 30 percent of all available educational seats and government jobs are already reserved for people classified as Other Backward Classes (OBC). This designation encompasses people who belong neither to tribal groups nor traditional lower-caste communities.

The 7-percent total reservation for poor Christians and Muslims will come from the OBC quota, and will have legal validity through an ordinance the government will promulgate, the chief minister said.

An ordinance is a temporary law made to meet emergencies while the legislature is not in session. It lapses if the legislature does not make it a permanent law within a stipulated time. The legislature is scheduled to meet in November.

Karunanidhi, 83, a proclaimed atheist, said the ordinance would take effect Sept. 15, which marks the 99th birth anniversary of C.N. Annadurai, his mentor and a former chief minister.

Karunanidhi said his Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (DMK, Dravidian progressive party) government always has "a soft spot for religious minorities." The announcement "fulfilled a key election promise made last year," he added.

He also stated the quota decision was based on the reports of two government commissions that recommended special steps to improve the socioeconomic status of Christians and Muslims.

Father Vincent Chinnadurai, chairperson of the state minority commission, told UCA News the government has "taken a bold step" that highlights the chief minister's concern for "religious minorities."

Father Xavier Arulraj, chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Minorities Development Corporation, told UCA News Sept. 13 that Christians in the state "feel greatly respected and recognized by the government."

The lawyer-priest observed that 80 percent of the state's Christians will benefit from the decision. Tamil Nadu has some 3.78 million Christians among its 62 million people, according to census records.

M.H. Jawaharullah, leader of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhakam, called the reservation "a gift" for his community as it prepared to begin Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, on Sept. 14. The government has acknowledged a long-term demand of Muslims, he added.

However, the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian people's party) criticized the move. Its state leader, L. Ganesan, said in a statement that this new policy would hit backward-caste Hindus, who comprise the majority on the OBC list.

In April, Karunanidhi told the state assembly his government wanted to allot a quota for Muslims and Christians. But he has not clarified how he would circumvent legal hurdles his decision may face.

The Supreme Court has decreed that quota reservations should not exceed 50 percent of available seats and jobs. But the percentage of reserved seats in Tamil Nadu now stands at 69 percent.

Apart from the 30 percent set aside for the OBCs, the state has reserved 18 percent for low-caste and 2 percent for poor tribal people. India's southernmost state has also reserved 19 percent for a group called Most Backward Classes, which include Christian fisher folk.

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