'Government Did A U-Turn On Caste Census'

'They want to sabotage the caste census and bury Muslim backward classes, Hindu backward classes, Sikh backward classes and Buddhist backward classes.'

The government's decision to collect caste-related information as part of the census has been widely described as the beginning of the long-awaited caste census.

But Justice V Eswaraiah (retd), former acting chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh high court and former chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes and a longstanding advocate of caste-based enumeration, strongly disputes that description.

Justice Eswaraiah argues that simply asking an individual to state their caste in the Census does not amount to a caste census capable of establishing the country's social and educational backwardness or determining the representation for different communities.

According to him, the exercise remains fundamentally a population census under the Census Act, without the detailed questions and verification mechanisms needed to identify communities across the central and state Other Backward Classes (OBC) lists.

In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff, Justice Eswaraiah asserts that successive governments have avoided a comprehensive caste enumeration because credible data could strengthen demands from backward communities for their share in political representation, education, government employment, healthcare, the economy and administration.

How do you look at the caste census that is being introduced in the current Census?

Let me correct you, there is no caste census happening this time. So your question is wrong.

But the 10th question out of 40 questions in this Census particularly asks for a person's caste.

It is the same old format of conducting a census, so this is not a 'caste census'.

In the 2011 socio-economic caste census there was a particular question which stated if you are not scheduled caste/scheduled tribe, which caste do you belong to?

Which caste, means?

Like Brahmin, Kshatriya, Baniya. Now under Brahmin there are many categories of castes, likewise in Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra castes where there are thousands of castes.

So what do you write? Similarly, when you write backward class it is not a caste. Again, what do you write?

Moreover, the central list of Other Backward Classes and states' Other Backward Classes are different so no one knows what to write in the caste column.

Even if caste is permissible, there are thousands of castes in India and how do you identify the social status of being an educational and backward class?

So what question should have been asked to make it a caste census?

There should have been a column asking whether your caste is included in both the central government list and state government list or is it only present in the central government caste list and not in the state government caste list.

The other question should have been whether your caste is in the state government list and not in the central government list.

These things should have been clearly mentioned and only then this would have been a caste census.

So what do these 40 census questions achieve on caste status?

The government changed its promise to conduct a caste census and did a U-turn on their promise.

There are two phases in conducting a caste census.

First is while conducting a household survey they have intentionally missed to include which head of the house belongs to which caste.

Even now, while enumerating the caste census, they are doing only census work, that is population count.

There were protests about this, but the government did not include this point.

They are not at all serious about doing a caste census. They want to sabotage the caste census and bury Muslim backward classes, Hindu backward classes, Sikh backward classes and Buddhist backward classes.

What is the reason?

They (upper castes) have been ruling this country for ages and they want to perpetuate and continue to have an oligarchy.

Right now the mood of the nation is different, though, as everyone feels a caste census is happening.

People are in a slumber.

On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the youth of this country should assist census staffers for clerical work.

He wants these unemployed backward people to work for free and fill the coffers of the rulers for this census work.

The 2011 SECC Data Controversy

So when we conducted the socio economic caste census in 2011 why did we not release that data at that point of time?

This was done during the Congress-ruled UPA government from 2011 onwards and completed in March 2014.

By the time it was completed the BJP came to power in May 2014.

And they did not release it because at that point of time it was said 0.5 percent of the data was inaccurate.

It was just an excuse to not release the caste census data.

If caste census data was released then the demand would have risen from the caste groups for their due share in the executive, legislature, judiciary, education, health, economy and administration. They will ask for their share.

Fearing they will raise questions of the establishment, that is why they sat and did nothing about their Constitutional rights.

Moreover, you see the contradiction in Prime Minister Modi's statement. He says on one hand that doing business runs in his blood while on the other hand he says he comes from the most backward caste.

How is that possible? Most backward classes are wandering people, begging classes whose economic status is worse than the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes or Adivasis too.

As a proponent of a caste census 'Jiski Jitni sankhya bhaari utni uski hissedari (your caste will get benefits according to your population)', will it solve India's problem?

Surely, it will solve India's problem.

India's problem is of discrimination, exploitation and suppression.

The caste census if conducted will help to bring equality, equal status and equal opportunity for everyone.

The caste system is not there anywhere in the world.

Discrimination is only related to colour, race and region.

India is the only country where caste-ridden discrimination exists.

If the complete data is available, then there will be a demand for equality and equal education alike for poor and the rich, as in the case of developed countries.

Even in a country like Mauritius there is free education for all. If the poor and downtrodden develop, then the whole society benefits.

State-Level Caste Surveys and Political Stances

Were the Telangana and Bihar caste census done in the right way?

Both states didn't do it the right way.

But yes, Bihar did somewhat better than Telangana.

The Telangana caste census is a bogus caste census.

Are you implying the Congress is lying that they did the caste census right in Telangana?

Rahul Gandhi is lying on the caste census. On the caste census he wants popularity so he is bluffing to the backward classes.

I met him with a delegation of 45 organisations on January 13, 2024, when the Congress had just come to power in Telangana.

I told him then that if you are truthful and want to get the credit he should ensure that the caste census was conducted properly in Congress-ruled states.

He did not do anything and I wrote a letter to him as well.

In Telangana, Reddys rule though their caste population is so low (external link).

There was no proper door to door survey done in the Telangana caste census.

Authenticated assignment was not given. If you ask a question, they will not be able to prove as to where they conducted the inquiry about my house.

There was no opportunity given to raise objections with regard to counting of the caste census.

Even according to the Mandal Commission, there were 52 percent backward class population.

The Mandal Commission report was implemented from 1993 onwards. From October 2013 to October 2016, when I was chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes, I found out that 1,661 plus OBCs were in the central list in 1994 but then from 1995 to 2016 1,000 more OBCs were included in the list.

So in total there are 2,600-odd OBCs in India, according to the central list. OBC numbers are only increasing and there is not a single exclusion in the central OBC list.

Can you explain this point?

There is a central government OBC list and then there is a separate state government OBC list.

Some castes are in the state OBC list but not in the central OBC list.

We don't accept a common OBC list for state and central governments unlike for SC/STs.

The Government of India then amended the Constitution.

The Constitution (127th Amendment) Bill was amended in 2021 where Article 342A(3) was passed specifically authorising states to maintain their OBC List.

This means states were able to directly notify (external link) OBC and SEBCs for all purposes.

I drafted a legislation for the Telangana government and told (Chief Minister) Revanth Reddy to pass a bill in the state assembly so a statutory caste census can be conducted.

I drafted the legislation for him and spoonfed everything but Revanth Reddy was not prepared to pass this legislation.

So there is no difference between the Congress and the BJP on caste census.

What you are saying is surprising because Rahul Gandhi has been a proponent of a caste census.

Nobody knows the reality of Rahul Gandhi. He is surviving in politics only because of southern states like Telangana and Karnataka.

He doesn't do anything about the caste census.

Today, even that 27 percent OBC reservation is being taken out under the garb of a creamy layer and given to the forward castes. Is this humanity?

What about OBC leaders in political parties?

There is no OBC leader. Either you are a Congress leader, BJP leader or Communist leader but not an OBC leader.

If any OBC speaks openly on such issues he will not get a ticket to contest elections.

Check what happened to Rajendra Pal Gautam of the Aam Aadmi Party who is a scheduled caste. Arvind Kejriwal just dropped him when he started making a noise over reservations.

Finally, will you call this current exercise a caste census?

There is no caste census but only a census under the Census Act where they are counting the population.

The BJP has been propagating that they will bring in a caste census. They have been lying about it.

They promised the backward classes to give their due share and all this is bluff.

Why they are scared of having a column asking specifically in the gazette whether you are from an OBC caste/class?