'They want to sabotage the caste census and bury Muslim backward classes, Hindu backward classes, Sikh backward classes and Buddhist backward classes.'
'Jitni umar likhi hai, utni likhi hai. Bas yahin hai.'
'There were deep discussions within the Sangh Parivar before this decision was made.' 'They were convinced, and only then did the Modi government proceed with the caste census.'
In a significant move, the Centre on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be part of the next population census, with the inclusion of caste details for the first time since independence hailed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies as a historic step to help design truly equitable and focused policies.
The government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
While data can empower communities, it reinforces identities, making local politics more caste-centric, with decisions increasingly contested on the grounds of representation.
Such dynamics could lead to shifting alliances and, in the worst case, local governance getting paralysed as each group demands proportional power-sharing, explain Amitabh Kundu and Mehebub Rahaman.
The Congress has promised to introduce the 'Mahalaxmi Scheme' in the poll manifesto which will provide Rs 1 lakh annually to the poor to alleviate poverty.
If everything goes according to the plan, the exercise will begin after the Lok Sabha elections, the official said.
'Rahul Gandhi is raising the issue of a caste census though his party has been doing injustice on this front from the 1950s.'
Sukanya Verma remembers some of his greatest solo numbers in our fondly curated playlist.
I hope those who underestimate Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be proved wrong in this fight for Thiruvananthapuram's future, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
There are concerns within the Congress with respect to the articulation of the party's demand for the caste census, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accusing the grand old party of attempting to divide Hindus through its push for the Other Backward Classes.
Is it is necessary to play divisive politics to succeed in the next general elections? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
As the Congress batted for a national caste census with an assertion that rights should be proportionate to population, its senior leader Abhishek Singhvi on Tuesday created a flutter by saying "it will eventually culminate into majoritarianism", a remark he later withdrew from social media and blaming it on his staff.
Our caste warriors will not even ask these questions, let alone explore better solutions to address the problems of inequality and skewed life outcomes, argues R Jagannathan.
Will a caste census make tens of millions desert Mr Modi?, asks Shekhar Gupta.
Hrishida's Abhimaan captured the real life pair Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan's dazzling chemistry in the many stages of the husband-wife relationship, observes Sukanya Verma.
'I came to Bigg Boss so that I could explore and understand myself.'
'They fear their caste privilege will be exposed if there is an OBC caste census.'
A salute to Commando Mudasir Ahmed Sheikh, known as Bindaas to Indian Army officers and colleagues in the J&K police, who was killed in action last week in an encounter that eliminated three terrorists in Kashmir.
... Why care for the truth when the legend so interesting, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
One of the most attractive things in a movie romance is to watch two people fall in love over a date or two.
'Trust me, I don't even enjoy the company of friends who live in regret.' 'You either own your decisions or just let it go and work harder to get something better.'
The music of Wedding Pullav isn't exceptional but it seems to go well with the story, says Aelina Kapoor.
Narendra Modi is set to address a huge political rally in Lucknow in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh on Monday, January 2. The PM is expected to make some big announcements at the rally, his first after the 50-day deadline on demonetisation curbs expires. Utkarsh Mishra imagines what Modi will say at the rally, dubbed as Lucknow's 'biggest ever.'
The best analysis of politics does not come out of air conditioned newsrooms, but from the voices on India's streets. Rakesh Kumar Singhal -- once an army jawan, then an ONGC employee, then a tea shopwallah -- reveals why he left the Congress for Modi.
She is changing India one village at a time.
