Do we really need caste enumerated Census | Caste Politics Part-2

In a developing country like India with such a large population, government policies play a very crucial role in the upliftment of the nation. As 22% of our population is below the poverty line and 62% of the population live in rural areas of the country. A lot of them are casual labours, agricultural labours, migrant workers, small and marginal farmers, etc. Even if the figures show 78% are above the poverty line, just doesn't mean they are economically sound and have all the resources at their disposal. There is certainly a need to support the needy part of the population.

This is where the census or demographic attributes of the nation comes into the picture. Government just can't universalise all the benefits through their welfare scheme as it is economically not viable. Hence they rely on the data to identify and target a specific set of people.

That specific group can be from any religion, any caste or sub-caste, any financial background or anyone who is in dire need of external support. So saying that only caste-based data will lead to better growth and take India forward is a sham.

Do we really need Caste Enumerated Census?

The answer to this is multifaceted. Either you can look at it from the growth and development point of view or the Political agenda. Historically in the name of growth and development, the Political agendas have been met through caste-based politics.

Britishers used it to make the caste-based stratification much more prominent without any significant improvement to their social and economic status. That is probably one of the reasons why the framers of the constitution and the first few ruling governments did not think in the favour of the caste enumerated census.

For example, in Bihar, it is said that "Voters do not cast their vote, they vote for their caste". Surprisingly it is true. Bihar for long has been a battleground for caste affiliated parties as the high class are in minority there. The irony is that Bihar is still one of the least developed states in India. So it is pretty clear that just identifying the caste groups doesn't assure that the region would develop.

None of the Census conducted in post-independent India had caste enumerated except for the SCs and STs. As per the census data, SC and ST form 15% and 8% of the countries population, based on this figure their reservation is fixed at 15% and 7.5%.

The demand for reservation for Socially and educationally backward classes gained a moment post-independence and after a considerable delay, VP Singh's government accepted the recommendations of Mandal commission and awarded 27% reservation to socially and educationally backwards classes in jobs and in educational institutions (A politically motivated decision by the National Front party).

Mandal commission had taken into consideration the 1931 census, according to which the population of OBC's were estimated to be around 52%. Thus if the population of the concerned section of people have increased or decreased it will have a considerable consequence on the reservation structure.

The ruling UPA government after a lot of pressure from the opposition did agree to conduct the socio-economic caste census along with the census of 2011. But this data was primarily based on the individual declaration which in most cases will not deliver accurate data. Hence the recorded figures had numerous cast and subcaste categories. Thus it could not be properly compiled and hence was not made public.

Stand of Present BJP government 

In 2018, the then Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced that they would include the OBC data in the 2021 census. But, when the questionnaire came out in 2019, it did not include the OBC specific category. Now the BJP government has announced that as a matter of policy they will not be enumerating the cast-wise population other than SCs and STs in the census.

This has attracted a lot of criticism from within and outside the current ruling government demanding reconsideration of the decision as the census 2021 has been postponed due to a covid outbreak. BJP government was at the forefront in demanding the caste enumerated census in 2011.

Census is very critical for India. The problem comes when it is politicised by some vested groups for their personal gains which can also lead to an unstable government.

The Argument in Favor of the Caste Census

The most potent argument that is being put forward is that it has not been done for the last 90 odd years and we should know the current composition of the population. 

The second argument being put forward is that the reservation being awarded to the OBC's are not adequate as compared to their population. It is alleged that the population of the backward classes have exceeded much beyond the forward class.

If it so and the reservation restructuring happens then major changes can occur on political fronts.

The Arguments against the Caste Census

To achieve growth and development one should focus on innovative ideas to formulate policies in order to target the section of people who are in dire need of assistance and bring them to a level playing field. The people in need can be from any background including the ones from higher castes as well. This requirement of a certain backward class of people will never be the same and will vary with space and time.

If the issue is that complex and dynamic, so should be our solution rather than just being stuck to petty politics. If not then we are set for a lot of turmoils in the coming days.

In a bid to move towards a casteless and classless society, this should be our first step and just cast caste out of the window and focus on the developmental aspect of things.