'It will split people and create caste clashes. Unity of people will be affected for the time being.'
A caste-based census has been one of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's major demands for quite some time.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which was against such an exercise, suddenly changed its mind and announced that there would be caste-based enumeration when the Census is conducted in India next year.
"The BJP and the RSS do not like to have a caste-based census because they know very well that the data that comes out will expose the upper caste domination in all spheres of society," Thol Thirumavalavan, member of Parliament and leader of the Dalit party, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi in Tamil Nadu (which is part of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance), tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.
Do you support a caste-based census? Do you think it will help the underprivileged in India?
In principle, we are for a caste-based census because we feel it will give space for everyone.
In fact, the Government of India has already been taking a caste census for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
But the government has not taken any such census for the rest of the castes so far though there was a demand after the Mandal Commission report. That was because every minor caste in a group wished for upliftment through education and employment.
For example, under one caste category, OBC, there are hundreds of castes which include major and minor communities.
It is next to impossible for the minor communities to compete with the major communities. That's why every caste has been asking for opportunities in education and employment.
Based on the Supreme Court directive, every state government has to categorise people based on castes because you cannot offer social justice or reservation to every person individually.
Will this not divide people more?
Of course, it will.
But let me talk about the merits of a caste-based census first. Then, I will come to the demerits.
The major merit is all the microscopic minorities will get social justice.
Now, there is one category called OBC, and under OBC, there are hundreds of castes.
But the dominant caste groups among the OBCs grab and enjoy all the benefits of reservation, and they compete among themselves for that.
Even among the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, there is a clamour for opportunities from the minor groups who are not getting the benefits of reservation.
If you take the OBCs in Tamil Nadu, you will see that only 3% to 4% of them gets to be in the political, social and the economic space.
They may constitute only 3% to 4% of the OBCs but enjoy 10% to 15% of the benefits.
On the other hand, another community among the OBCs may constitute 8% to 10% of the population but get only 2% to 3% of the benefits.
A caste census will tell us which major community is enjoying all the benefits, and which communities are denied the benefits.
With a caste census, real data will emerge which will expose the real situation so that those who are denied the benefits can fight for their rights and social justice.
This is the merit part of the caste census.
What about the demerits? Like I asked earlier, will this not divide people further on caste lines?
Yes, this will divide people. It will split people and create caste clashes. Unity of people also will be affected for the time being.
But after a couple of decades, we will find a solution to end the animosity among various caste groups.
Still, you feel a caste-based census is necessary to uplift those who have been left behind?
Yes. If you want to give social justice to every single citizen in the country, a caste census is essential.
Only if the government has data, can it implement the welfare schemes properly to those who really need them, and those who are left behind.
Only caste-based data can give us the real picture of whether a particular community has adequate representation in employment and education.
Right now, we have no means to know the true picture.
Rahul Gandhi has been demanding a caste-based census for quite some time, but the BJP was against it till now.
Do you think the BJP changing its stand and announcing a caste-based census was because of the impending Bihar elections?
Of course. The BJP has taken a U-turn on a caste-based census only because of the Bihar elections.
Rahul Gandhi has been demanding a caste-based census for a long time. But the BJP was totally against it.
The U-turn is because the BJP's ally in Bihar, Nitish Kumar, has been asking for a caste census. (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) Chandrababu Naidu also wants a caste census.
To sustain the support of their allies, the BJP took a U-turn.
Only because of the Bihar elections that the BJP announced that there would be a caste-based census.
The fact is the BJP and the RSS do not like to have a caste-based census because they know very well that the data that comes out will expose the upper caste domination in all spheres of society. This has been their agenda all along.
Now, only because of the Bihar elections and pressure from their allies -- Nitish Kumar and Naidu -- that the BJP was forced to take this decision.
How do you think a caste-based census will change the lives of the unrepresented people in India?
You will not see any immediate change. It will take a couple of decades for us to see a change.
What you will see first among the OBC community is the major beneficiaries will fight against the communities who have not benefitted so far.
There will be clashes between them.
For example, the Narikuravas in Tamil Nadu who come under the OBC category. How can they compete with communities like the Vanniyars, Gounders, etc?
Among the scheduled castes in Tamil Nadu also, only three communities are getting all the benefits of reservation while the rest of the 70 other castes are totally left behind. There is no way they can fight against the three dominant communities.
The same is the case in other states too.
It is a fact that a caste-based census will split the Hindus, but it is a necessity.
Do you think it is because a caste-based census can split the Hindus that the BJP was against it?
The BJP wants to consolidate the Hindus only for electoral purposes.
The party has no interest in finding solutions to the problems the majority of Hindus -- the OBCs, the MBCs, etc -- face.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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