NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court’s landmark decision allowing states to create sub-categorisation within the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), have fuelled the clamour for a nationwide caste census, a long-standing demand of the Opposition parties.
Constitutional experts and several political parties including the Congress, point out that sub-classification cannot be realised in the absence of data on the caste categories.
In a majority ruling, the apex court has permitted state governments to sub-classify SC/STs to advance the cause of affirmative action. The seven-judge bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said that this must be based on “quantifiable and demonstrable data” instead of political expediency.
While many political parties and state governments have welcomed the verdict, they also argue that caste census is now imperative to classify sub-groups among SCs and STs.
Welcoming the Supreme Court verdict, former Karnataka chief minister Veerappa Moily told this paper that caste-wise population and representation can be decided only by holding caste census.
“Sub-categorisation of SCs is a must. They are not a homogenous group and putting everyone together is depriving some sub-sections of the SC community. A committee should be set up and assessment should be made with regard to the social and educational backwardness of the communities,” he said.
The numbers of SCs and STs are counted every 10 years in the census, he pointed out. “What we have now is the numbers from the last Census, which was held in 2011. After that, the government has not made any efforts to collect data on caste-wise representation in jobs and educational institutions. Without quantifiable data, the court verdict cannot be realised,” he said, adding that the Karnataka government had set up the Sadashiva Commission in 2005 to classify SC groups and ensure equitable distribution of reservation.
The Opposition parties including Congress, SP and RJD argue that a caste census can help identify the disadvantaged groups and bring them to the forefront of policy making.
Speaking to this paper, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said that caste census has become more critical In India’s progress. “Without data, the sub-categorisation of SCs is impossible. The delay in census will jeopardise the sub-categorisation and the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill. The delay in holding the census is a conspiracy to stop SC sub-classification and stop women from entering Parliament,” said Tagore.
He also pointed out that even the Justice Rohini Commission report on the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBC) cannot be implemented without holding caste census. The report found that an abysmal percentage of OBCs cornered a significant portion of reservation benefits.
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