CHENNAI: Amid strong demand from various political parties for a caste survey in Tamil Nadu, similar to the one carried out by the Bihar government, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to integrate caste census with the upcoming national decadal census. The exercise by state governments may lack statutory approval, the CM said.
In his letter to the PM, Stalin said the census exercise carried out by the union government has more legal validity than the caste surveys done by state governments. “As census is a subject in the Union List, caste surveys by states lack the statutory stamp of approval as there is no legislative backing for such data collection. Hence, we are of the considered view that only a statutory census for the whole of India, with critical caste-related data inputs, would offer the right platform for upholding social justice,” Stalin said.
Taking exception to the letter, PMK founder S Ramadoss said the move is tantamount to the state forgoing its right to carry out caste census. BJP state chief K Annamalai also questioned the move and asked what stopped the DMK government from granting an extension to the Kulasekaran Commission set up by the AIADMK government for conducting caste surveys in TN.
‘Caste census by states lack nationwide comparability’
The CM in his letter said some state governments like Bihar have successfully conducted a caste survey and a few others have announced their plan to carry out a similar exercise. “Although these state-specific initiatives and their data outcomes are useful in providing insights into our society and its needs, they lack the advantage of a nationwide comparability of inputs and processes,” the CM said.
“The initiative will be a monumental step to take the benefits of development to the most vulnerable sections and help in building a stronger, more inclusive India. I look forward to your personal intervention in this regard,” the CM said.
Stalin also said making factual data available in the public domain would empower stakeholders and policymakers to analyse the impact of past programmes and help plan the strategies for the future. But since the last caste census was conducted in India in 1931, there is a dearth of contemporary data, the CM said.
Stalin also said the demographic and socio-economic landscape of our country has undergone many changes over the last 90 years. “But the underprivileged sections continue to remain backward despite numerous policy actions. Hence, it is vital that contemporary data derived from a common standard process at the national level is collated to address issues related to social justice, equity, and inclusivity,” he said.
Reacting to the move, S Ramadoss said, “Even after the caste survey by Bihar was upheld by the Supreme Court and Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have decided to conduct caste surveys of their own, the CM is putting the ball back in the union government’s court.”
Ramadoss said even if the union government agrees to conduct a caste census now it may not stick to its words later. “This is what happened in the past and it may happen in the future too. TN government has powers to conduct the caste survey and it should do it,” he said.