Despite Cong clamour for caste census, it was UPA govt that buried it

By Kavya Dubey

In a democracy where caste is intrinsic and indispensable in the electoral theatre, its impact was perceived to be a significant factor in nation building back when the Constitution was being framed after Independence.

 

The caste census is a caste-wise breakup of the population that enlists all scheduled and unscheduled castes in terms of both numbers and percentage.

After India's first caste census was conducted in 1881, the 2011 caste census collected data on all castes, not just OBCs, as was the predominant demand. The intent behind this was to expand the socio-economic mapping.

Back in 2011, in the UPA-2 regime, Congress joined the chorus with regional parties and raised the matter of having a caste census.

As a result, the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC) was carried out along with the 2011 Census, which the Manmohan Singh government had approved to be conducted after due discussion in both Houses of Parliament in 2010.

The SECC 2011 began on June 29, 2011, from the Sankhola village of Hazemara block in West Tripura district. However, it was not done under the 1948 Census of India Act.

SECC 2011 was primarily designed to identify households living below the poverty line and to provide data on various socio-economic indicators.

It was conducted in all states and union territories across India and then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released its first findings on July 3, 2015.

But the brakes had already been applied under UPA-2's watch when the then Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, and senior officials in the Ministry who are tasked to oversee the Census operations carried out by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI), had made it clear that there was no scope for including the enumeration of castes and sections other than the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in 2011 Census.

Then, just before Manmohan Singh's intervention in the Lok Sabha, Chidambaram pointed out the logistic difficulties in carrying out the task, adding that even for the 2001 Census, there was a proposal to include caste as a parameter in the enumeration exercise, which the then BJP-led NDA government did not favour. The Census exercise therefore went by the practice prevailing since 1951.

The UPA partners of the Congress were volatile on the issue of OBC mobilisation. SP and RJD helped the government by defeating the cut motions moved by BJP. Left parties were also perceived as a reason that led to the change of stance.

SP President late Mulayam Singh Yadav had stated: "It is a demand that has been raised systematically for over two decades by parties from all parts of the country, including the SP and the RJD as well as South Indian parties like the DMK and the PMK. However, the Congress and the BJP had not been able to understand the importance and relevance of the demand. Now, they too have realised its relevance and the government has decided to take appropriate measures. As stated often, nobody can stop an idea whose time has come and caste-based census is certainly an idea whose time has come."

Despite the Prime Minister's assurance in Parliament, the government did not take formal steps to go ahead with caste-based census. The RGI's office did not receive any notification regarding the government's intent even a week after the Prime Minister's announcement.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee held that it was not difficult to incorporate caste enumeration in the present census, but it is to be seen how that would be executed.

Chidambaram had pointed out during the debate in Lok Sabha that the census enumerator is not an investigator or verifier, and that the person has no training or expertise to classify a citizen as a member of the OBC or otherwise.

Yet another contentious aspect that was highlighted was the lack of uniformity in caste specifications across the country. There is a Central list of OBCs and then there are state-specific lists for it.

However, while some states do not have a list of OBCs at all, some have, in addition to the OBC list, a subset of Most Backward Castes. Further, a certain caste in the OBC category in one state may not be an OBC at all in another state.

Additionally, converts to Islam and Christianity are treated differently within the larger community, depending on the caste they converted from. The classification of those born of inter-caste marriages remains problematic too.

Interestingly, both BJP and Congress demanded a caste census when they were in opposition, but once they came to power, they did not conduct it conclusively, raising doubts about the intent behind the exercise, which is believed to be upliftment of people by means of conducting a caste-based census.

While the SECC did collect data on caste, its methodology was criticised for being inadequate and incomplete, resulting in data that was not accurate or comprehensive.

But more interestingly, SECC, which went on from 2011 till 2015, data was never revealed.

A figure close to Rs 5,000 crore was expended by the Manmohan Singh government and subsequently, Narendra Modi government just for the caste data to never be released.

This expenditure was made where just a column included in the decadal census would give the desired data.

It is no secret that the caste census could significantly alter the existing power dynamics with regard to political representation, and the leading national parties appear unwilling to dabble with this proposition.

(Kavya Dubey may be reached at kavya.d@ians.in)

Source: IANS