BENGALURU: After the Vokkaliga Samaj meeting just a few days ago, Veerashaiva-Lingayats held a meeting on the socio-economic survey and Kantharaj Commission findings on Thursday, and said they rejected the report.
Veerashaiva-Lingayat leaders, who met under the leadership of Mahasabha president and MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa, said that considering there is information that there are many loopholes in the census data based on socio-economic status, the government should carry out another exercise scientifically, without giving rise to any suspicions.
Veerashaiva-Lingayat leaders who held extensive discussions on the Kantharaj Commission report said it was not carried out comprehensively and there are allegations that the report was put together without visiting many houses. They alleged that the Veerashaiva-Lingayat numbers represented in the report were smaller than the actual numbers, and due to this lapse, the community would face severe consequences.
Former Backward Classes Commission chairman CS Dwarakanath said, “The findings of the report have not been made public, how can anyone find fault with the report and call it unscientific, without the report being tabled, and on mere hearsay.’’ Meanwhile, many Backward Caste leaders who have been surprised by this belligerence by the two dominant communities, said they would hold a meeting shortly on the issue.
Meanwhile, intellectuals like Prof S Japhet, who was formerly Bangalore City University VC, and is a visiting professor at National Law School of India University, urged the government to bring out the caste census report details.
“The demand for a nationwide caste census is not a recent phenomenon, and has been sporadically made by backward castes, and at the same time, opposed by upper castes, as it would help capture granular data on caste demographics in the country,” he said. “This would help the state plan welfare mechanisms so that every community has an equitable share in the country’s resources, rather than being cornered by certain privileged castes.’’
Survey is not a caste census, says Tangadagi
Even as the dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities are opposing the yet-to-be-released caste census or socio-economic and education survey by the State Backward Classes Commission, Minister for Backward Classes Welfare and Kannada and Culture Department Shivaraj Tangadagi said it is not correct to term it a ‘caste census’. He told the media in Bengaluru that it is not correct to protest against the report without even seeing it. Some communities are protesting against the report that is yet to be submitted, he said and appealed to those who have seen the report to give details. The report by former Backward Classes Commission chairman H Kantharaju is an educational, economic, and social survey done to get details of the educational and economic status of all communities, and it is not correct to call it a caste census, he said. The state government will study the report, he added. Tangadagi said the report was ready during Siddaramaiah’s earlier tenure as chief minister but was not accepted due to technical reasons.