In what could be a setback to Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh’s agenda of pushing through OBC quotas in Central educational institutions in this session itself, four Central universities from the northeast region have told the ministry not to impose OBC quotas in their institutions as it may lead to ‘‘communal tension’’ .

Sources said the universities had argued that these states did not have substantial OBC population as they were mostly inhabited by ‘‘tribals’’. Top HRD sources confirmed the heads of region’s four Central universities — North-Eastern Hill University, Nagaland University, Mizoram university and Manipur University — recently conveyed their ‘‘concerns’’ to the ministry.

In an official communication to the HRD ministry, UGC and the Veerappa Moily Oversight Committee — accessed by The Indian Express — these institutions have said, ‘‘The 27 per cent reservation for OBCs should not be pushed down the throats of the Scheduled Tribes in the North-Eastern region...the issue is highly sensitive and may unnecessarily lead to communal tension if not handled carefully, therefore, it needs to be resolved wisely, once and for all.’’ They also demanded that ‘‘the 27 per cent for OBCs should be automatically allotted to the Scheduled Tribes’’.

In fact, the Union minister for Tribal Affairs and Development of North-Eastern Region (DONER) P.R. Kyndiah — who’s himself from Meghalaya — met Arjun Singh last week and conveyed him these ‘‘apprehensions’’ of the north-eastern people.