Kochi: The Syro-Malabar Public Affairs Commission has strongly criticized KPCC Vice President V.T. Balram for what it termed a “misinformation campaign” against the 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). The Commission stated that Balram’s remarks, made soon after the first allotment of medical and dental seats in Kerala, are factually incorrect and misleading.
In a recent Facebook post, Balram alleged that “prime” students, including members of the Christian community, unfairly benefitted from the EWS quota in government medical colleges, resulting in a loss of seats for Muslim students. He also referred to internal caste classifications within the Christian community to support his claim.
Rejecting these allegations, the Syro-Malabar Commission clarified that there is a fundamental imbalance in reservation policies between Kerala’s two major minority groups Muslims and Christians. While most Christians fall outside the ambit of caste-based reservation, all Muslims in Kerala are covered under OBC/SEBC categories. The EWS quota, introduced through the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, was designed precisely to address economic disadvantage without duplication of caste-based benefits, the Commission pointed out.
“The EWS reservation is a constitutionally guaranteed justice that responds to today’s social reality of economic marginalization, irrespective of religion or caste,” the Commission said in a statement. It further argued that Christian students accessing opportunities through the EWS quota are doing so within the framework of law, not at the expense of other communities.
Fr. James Kokkavayal, Secretary of the Public Affairs Commission, warned against attempts to politicize reservation and pit communities against one another for electoral gains. “Kerala’s public conscience must resist vote bank politics. Reservation should never be reduced to a tool of religious or caste dominance it must remain focused on those truly suffering from backwardness,” he said.
The Commission also expressed concern over what it described as “hidden political agendas” seeking to establish caste or religious supremacy under the guise of population-based reservation. It called upon civil society and political leaders to defend the principle of justice enshrined in the EWS framework rather than spreading narratives that weaken social harmony.