BENGALURU: The Union Government’s announcement on Wednesday that caste census will be included in the forthcoming national census is likely to strengthen the argument of Veerashaiva Lingayats and Vokkaligas demanding the state government to withdraw the the ‘contentious’ Socio Economic and Educational Survey (SES-2015), popularly known as caste census.
The two dominant communities have termed the census ‘unscientific’ and demanded a fresh survey to determine populations of communities. They have argued that the state’s caste census is decade old and obsolete.
For the national caste census, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) is likely to take up the task as caste is included in the national census, experts said. It is to be seen whether NCBC commissions the census to the state backward classes commission, they added. In the changed scenario, the Siddaramaiah cabinet may keep aside caste-wise population figures and debate on the data on the status of communities.
A special cabinet meeting was scheduled for May 2 to discuss the caste census, but the meeting has been postponed indefinitely. The April 17 special cabinet meeting, called specifically to discuss caste census, remained inconclusive as ministers refused to accept the report. Siddaramaiah then asked them to go through specific data on the status of communities, sources said.
Out of 41 volumes, data nine throws light on the status of communities including the political aspect of communities. Siddaramaiah asked officials to furnish exhaustive data on it to ministers. “More than the population of communities which became a contentious issue, the debate on the status of communities is more important,” a Siddaramaiah sympathiser said.
This will help the CM defend the commission’s recommendation to increase the quota for Veerashaiva Lingayats from 4 to 8% under 3B category and 3 to 7% for Vokkaligas under 3A. State’s backward classes commissions in the past had recommended taking away quota from the socially and educationally forward communities in the state. The Article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution allows states to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes
Political scientist Prof Sandeep Shastri recalled that the Havanuru commission had recommended taking away the reservation for Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas, whereas the Venkatswamy commission had recommended taking away the Veerashaiva-Lingayat quota. After 1956, these two communities constituted a majority of MLAs in all assemblies, he pointed out.
“Caste is an important political identity in modern India and it may not have anything to do with the traditional ritual and hierarchy it represents. Though of course, there are forms of injustice still continued, but today in politics caste is an important identity which everyone uses for their advantage and for their group consolidations, as a result caste has become an identity and it’s important for caste leaders to emphasise on how large and significant their caste group is. Caste group leaders would like to emphasise the strength and importance of their group and their strategic relevance,” he analysed.
