Caste-wise census has become the most debated topic in Tamil Nadu today. DMK president and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin, has made it clear that he has no intention of following the examples of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar or Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in conducting caste survey in the state. Instead, he has passed the responsibility to the Union Government.
The arguments put forward by the CM that only the Union Government can conduct caste census are unacceptable. The decadal census conducted by the centre is a head count of various communities and it is not a socio, economic, and educational survey. The data collected through the census is not sufficient to determine the quantum and type of affirmative actions, including reservation, to be designed. Such detailed data can be collected by the state governments under the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008.
Tamil Nadu has a long history of reservation. The Justice Party implemented 100% reservation for various communities when it was in power in 1927. This was abolished by the court after Independence through the judgment in the Shenbagam Durairajan case. Due to the massive protest in Tamil Nadu, the first amendment to the Constitution was made in 1951 and a new Article 15(4) was added, and the right of reservation was given to the states. The quantum of reservation was set as 40%. It was later increased to 41% in 1954.
In 1971, the reservation for Backward Classes (BC) was increased to 31% and reservation for Scheduled Castes to 18%, and the total reservation went up to 49%. In the 1980s, during Dr MGR’s regime, reservation for BCs was increased to 50% and the total reservation was increased to 68%. Following the Vanniyar reservation struggle, in 1989, the then DMK government divided the 50% reservation for backward classes, giving 30% reservation to backward classes and 20% to most backward classes. Also 1% reservation was given to tribals for the first time. With that, the total reservation in TN reached 69%.
In 1992, in the Indra Sawhney case, the Supreme Court ruled that reservation should not exceed 50%. This put the 69% reservation in Tamil Nadu at risk. To overcome that, the Jayalalithaa government passed the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of appointment or posts in the Services under the State) Act (Act 45 of 1994) in 1994. The Special Act was added to the Ninth Schedule by a constitutional amendment and thus got constitutional protection from judicial review.
Though an organisation called ‘Voice’ had filed a case in 1993 in the Supreme Court challenging the 69% reservation, it was not taken up for trial as the Special Act was under the Ninth Schedule. In 2007, however, the Supreme Court ruled that the laws in the Ninth Schedule are also subject to judicial review in the I R Coelho case.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court, in its judgment on July 13, 2010, held 69% reservation as valid. At the same time, the court ordered that a caste survey be conducted within a year and the quantum of reservation be decided based on that survey. Subsequently, Dr S Ramadoss met the then CM, Kalaignar Karunanidhi, on October 13, 2010, along with the leaders of 27 community organisations and insisted that a caste-wise survey be conducted to protect the 69% reservation and comply with the Supreme Court judgment.
But the Kalaignar government did not take any steps to conduct the caste census. The Jayalalithaa government that came to power after that said that there was not enough time to conduct a full caste census. Instead, the government quoted the Ambashankar Commission report that said that the percentage of backward class population was 67% and passed a resolution in the State Cabinet on the 11th of July 2011, a day before the deadline set by the Supreme Court, and saved the 69% reservation.
Some students filed another suit in the Supreme Court in 2016 seeking to declare the 69% reservation ultra vires as it was extended without caste enumeration. In 2021, a student named Dinesh filed another case. In its reply to Dinesh, the SC said that the 69% reservation case would be taken up for trial after the final verdict in the Maratha reservation case. As the Curative Petition filed by the Maratha government against the Supreme Court’s verdict invalidating the Maratha reservation is about to be heard soon, the 69% reservation case may be taken up for hearing by the SC any time.
If the Tamil Nadu government does not submit the caste-wise population data, then there is a danger that the SC will strike down the 69% reservation. That is why PMK has been insisting that a caste-wise census should be conducted immediately in TN.
Apart from that, in the petition filed by the then AIADMK government in this case in February 2021, it was stated that a commission headed by Justice Kulasekaran has been set up to collect caste-wise population data to support the 69% reservation. But the DMK government dissolved that commission. The chance of the Supreme Court striking down the 69% reservation is now high, citing the non-conduct of caste-wise census.
TN reservations are based on the 1931 census and the 1985 Ambashankar commission report. These are all outdated and fresh data are needed to formulate affirmative action schemes. Therefore, it is imperative that a caste census be conducted.
Nothing should stop the Tamil Nadu government from conducting a caste survey. Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh have already completed caste census. The Bihar government conducted a caste survey collecting 19 types of information, including education, employment, social status, and housing facilities of the population. Based on that, not only did they increase the quantum of reservation, but also announced schemes to uplift the people in the lower strata through housing facilities, loan assistance, etc. The Patna High Court struck down only the increase in quota and did not ban other schemes. Even for cancelling the increase in reservation, the court cited that the study did not prove under-representation of various communities in education and employment. The Patna HC neither held that caste-wise census is invalid nor questioned the authority of the state government to collect caste data. The Supreme Court also did not say that state governments do not have the power to collect caste data.
A caste wise census is the basic requirement for designing any affirmative action including reservation. PMK and the people of Tamil Nadu will ensure that at any cost a caste census is conducted in Tamil Nadu and 69% reservation is protected.
Footnote is a weekly column that discusses issues relating to Tamil Nadu
(Anbumani Ramadoss is Rajya Sabha MP, former union health minister, and president of PMK)