Caste enumeration is included in forthcoming population census, Muslims too will have to mention the ‘caste’ there

• Including caste enumeration in forth coming Population census may help in making some indirect evaluation analysis in the spirits of Art-341 of COI
• NDA-IV Modi Govt deciding to include caste enumeration in Census raises hopes for real good to many SC/ST /OBC

DAYA SAGAR
One may ask what has been the need for the Nitish Kumar lead Bihar Government to get caste census conducted for the State of Bihar and why the Rahul Gandhi had been so particularly requesting GOI to include mention of caste in the next population census which is overdue? Why present central government has also decided to include Caste enumeration in forth coming Population census ?, To have some idea for the reasons for caste census demands let us has a look at the spirits / intentions of the constituent assembly of India that drafted Art -334 laying down that the reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies of the States to cease after 10 yrs ( upto 1960) had surely very hopefully hoped that the leadership in Independent India would take the common welfare as priority number one, where as the achievement has been nowhere to the anticipations since instead even the title of Art-334 has been to read as, Art – 334 [Reservation of seats and special representation to cease after certain period] and as regards the limiting period it has been also amended [ Subs. by the Constitution (One Hundred and Fourth Amendment) Act, 2019, s. 2, for “seventy years” (w.e.f. 25-1-2020) ] to read [ < Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Part, the provisions of this Constitution relating to-… reservations… shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of eighty years in respect of clause (a) …. from the commencement of this Constitution:] . That means constitution has been amended 7 times to further increase the reservations. Additionally Art-335 had also provided that . Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and posts consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State. The reservations were also created for SC and ST in services and educational institutions in same proportions for SC & ST although Art-335 did not specify any quantum and time limits. Not only that even need was felt for more backward people/ classes for providing special sports over the years in the name of OBC ( other backward classes ) but they have not been given reservations in the legislative assemblies / Lok Sabha. That means the schemes / policies as implemented over 7 decades have not been able to benefit the masses as was anticipated. Extensions have given and new ‘members’ have been included/ identified as OBC without pinning the reasons for not achieving the goals / for short falls . Constitution of India had provisioned in terms of Art- 340 for Appointment of a Commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes laying down that-(1) The President may by order appoint a Commission consisting of such persons as he thinks fit to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India and the difficulties under which they labour and to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the Union or any State to remove such difficulties and to improve their condition and as to the grants that should be made for the purpose by the Union or any State and the conditions subject to which such grants should be made, and the order appointing such Commission shall define the procedure to be followed by the Commission. (2) A Commission so appointed shall investigate the matters referred to them and present to the President a report setting out the facts as found by them and making such recommendations as they think proper. (3) The President shall cause a copy of the report so presented together with a memorandum explaining the action taken thereon to be laid before each House of Parliament. But it appears that provisions of this article have not been truthfully used to pin the failures of implementing agencies so as to apply corrections since had that been done the position would have different and the benefits of special provisions would have reached to the majority of the under privileged and the discriminated so as to reduce the number of suffering subjects of India. Other aspect that need critical attention is that under Art 341 and Art 342 identification of Socially and educationally backwards ( SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST) were left to executive without any pointedly named parameters. For general understanding SC can be introduced something like < SC means those castes, races, or tribes characterized by historical social and ritual disabilities, marginalization, and oppression in the Indian context >and ST means those indigenous or tribal communities characterized by distinctive culture, traditional dependence on forest or land-based livelihood and historical marginalization in the Indian context >. Not only that whole mass of SC and ST have all these years been treated as a homogeneously backward community comprising of thousands of castes/sub castes/ tribes/ sub tribes with varied degree of backwardness within them. May be backwards within backwards have not been able to lay hands on the special supports and have still remained fence sitters.
So now with caste census the heterogeneous mass of the SC &ST and even the OBC would be better known . Some meaningful investigations using the provisions of Art-340 would be conducted , even some pinning expressions about the backwardness would be well crafted which could have not been intimately done in 1950 thereby making the supports extended in the form of reservations in legislature and superior administration not to reach adequately the ‘backward’ amongst the backwards who remained standing in the back rows all these years .
Yes the Muslim too will have to name their castes ( sects) this time and this could be good opportunity for their socio political leadership of Muslim to also accept that in them also social discrimination exits ( if it is so like ‘Hindu”) as had been accepted by SIKH and Buddhist leaderships whose socially backward castes have also been given the status of SC. They should shed the demands in the name Pasmanda Muslims from among Muslims as a separate identity of under privileged Indians based on religion. Once they too accept social discrimination having prevailed in them also they would be entitled to become part of SC and reservation for SC could be raised beyond present 15 % and they would also come out of the unfair influence of political leaderships giving them hopes for religion based unconstitutional provision to come.
To be continued
(The writer is Sr Journalist & analyst of J&K affairs)