Folks’s voice for a whole Caste-based Census is gaining momentum in numerous corners of the nation. Within the absence of a caste census, the nation is relying upon 90-year previous knowledge to formulate its holistic developmental insurance policies and schemes for backward and disadvantaged sections of the society. Caste and social justice are interlinked to one another and Caste census will assist the federal government to implement welfare schemes, with the pious motto of ‘ Jiski Jitni Bhagidari , Uski Utni Hissedari “.
For a welfare authorities, it’s a constitutional obligation and dedication for the inclusive development of the weaker sections of the society. So, Caste Census is significant for social fairness. A piece of individuals argue that it could permit social pressure to develop between communities within the nation. Such fictional argument of a handful casteist forces is creating hurdles in approach of all-round improvement with social justice. If religion-based and language-based census had not created division and hatred within the society as per their declare, how a whole caste-based census can create variations within the society ?
Truly the varied census, performed after independence , cannot be termed as casteless, since not solely castes of Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes are being recorded, however religion-based census too is being performed. It’s past the understand of the those who why the Centre is hesitating on a whole Caste-based Census, enumerating OBCs too.
The reference to Caste Census is discovered within the Rigveda and Kautilya’s Artha Shastra; though Caste or Class categorisation was not so nasty as are being seen at present. Systematic caste-wise enumeration of inhabitants was launched by the Registrar Common of India in 1881 below British Rule, which continued until 1931. Within the 1941 census too, the caste-wise figures have been collected, however the train was curtailed because of World Battle-II and last knowledge couldn’t be revealed. In 1951, the Census train was revamped drastically and recording of caste, besides SCs and STs, was deserted. Thus 1931 Census, which included Pakistan and Bangla Desh territories too, turned the final caste-based census in India.
The primary Backward Courses Fee, headed by Kaka Kalelkar, has really helpful in its report of 1955 for enterprise caste-wise enumeration of inhabitants in Census 1961. The second Backward Courses Fee, i.e. Mandal Fee has highlighted that the report relies on 1931 Census knowledge, which isn’t sufficient and therefore subsequent, i.e. 2001, Census must be caste-based. The fee had no approach apart from to imagine inter se fee of inhabitants development of varied communities & non secular teams during the last half a century to be remaining the identical. However this was removed from actuality. The census data of the years 1951 and 2011 reveal that the inhabitants of Hindu has decreased from 84.1% to 79.30%, whereas that of Muslim has elevated from 9.8% to 14.23%. Equally, the inhabitants of SC and ST has elevated from 14% to 16.63% and 6.23% to eight.61% respectively. Clearly, the belief of fixed decadal development of all communities is a farce.
In December 1996, the H. D. Deve Gowda Cupboard has taken resolution for caste-wise enumeration in Census 2001. However in 2001, the Vajpayee-led NDA authorities scuttled the choice on the plead of so-called caste-biases. In June 2010, The UPA authorities had made a dedication for caste census after dialogue in each Homes of Parliament. However as a substitute of including a column in the primary decadal Census of 2011, a separate Socio Financial Caste Census (SECC) was initiated, whose last report was neither concluded and nor made public. On thirty first August 2018, after reviewing progress for Census 2021, the then Residence Minister has promised for accumulating knowledge on OBCs first time, however the Authorities took U-turn in Lok Sabha in 2021 saying No to it.
The demand for a whole caste-based census emerges each time in Parliament, when it’s due. Normally, such demand comes from OBCs and different disadvantaged sections of the society and it’s continually & aggressively opposed by the representatives from higher castes, who’re dominating the facility share regardless of having nominal inhabitants share and are afraid of loosing their age-long monopoly.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is main the refrain for Caste Census and all political in addition to social establishments are in its favour. The proposal for caste census in 2021 was unanimously handed by the Bihar Vidhan Sabha on seventeenth February 2019 and once more on twenty seventh February 2020. Such a decision has additionally been handed in Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha on eighth January 2021. Final 12 months Odisha turned third state to induce the centre for holding enumeration of Socially and Educationally Backward Courses together with a common census in 2021. Presently Telangana and Jharkhand is all set for caste census within the state. The Nationwide Fee for Backward Courses has additionally urged the federal government for a similar. However, as Central Authorities has not accepted the proposal, the varied State Governments ought to come ahead to conduct the train on their very own sources on the sample of Bihar and Karnataka.
It might be famous that the Karnataka Excessive Court docket and the Supreme Court docket had directed the Karnataka State authorities to offer the newest proportion of a selected caste within the whole inhabitants of the state, each time the federal government plans to increase reservation facility to a selected caste. So, the State authorities determined to conduct the caste census to know the present standing of varied castes within the state. The Maharashtra State Fee for Backward Courses (MSCBC) has really helpful for Socio Financial and Caste Census by the State authorities. Bihar state has already performed caste census and rescheduled and enhanced the reservation proportion as per the result of socio-economic standing.
Caste Census at nationwide stage is the necessity of the hour, because the unavailability of dependable and genuine knowledge concerning the precise inhabitants of every section of the society, geographical space of their unfold & density is posing an enormous problem in making certain centered and outcome-specific planning. The most recent knowledge and statistics are the important software for policy-making and analysis, because it helps the policy-makers to find out the goal and direct the course of insurance policies & actions. With the recent evaluation of the caste-wise inhabitants, the financial deprivation ranges of various castes in numerous states might be decided and it could assist to tailor reservation coverage to make sure equitable illustration of all of them.
(Writer is a technocrat and academician. He holds Grasp in Engineering from M.N. Regional Engineering College, Allahabad/Prayagraj)
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