NDA-IV Modi Govt deciding to include caste enumeration in Census raises hopes for real good to many SC/ST/OBC

DAYA SAGAR
Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs of Government of India chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modiji has decided on 30-04-2025 to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census that is going to be conducted after 2011 census. The government expresses in the decision something like commitment to holistic interests and values of the Indian nation society. The issue for including the element of Caste in the Population census, (as is mandated for to be done in terms of Art-246 of the Constitution of India after 10 years ) which is a union subject listed at item 69 in the Union List in the Seventh Schedule, has been nominally live for more than nearly three decades but it had become a subject of more of active discussions/demands after the Bihar government projected some data about caste census got conducted by Nitish government ( Bihar Caste Census Report 2023 ) and it was more taken as a regular issue in public domain by Rahul Gandhi. Some other Indian states are also said to have conducted such surveys to enumerate castes but the surveys did not have that effective transparency and communication about the purpose/intent. Rahul Gandhi has been more vociferously raising the demand for such enumeration ( both inside and outside Parliament too) census at all India level.
More so, Population Census is a subject of Union list and stressing for such exercise is otherwise also of utmost need of the day for reviewing / assessing the achievements made in benefitting the “backward” subjects of Indian nation by the system of special supports in the form of ‘reservations’ for some classes/ castes from among the Indian citizens which are still being continued even after 7 decades of independence although it was anticipated by the ‘elders’ in 1950 that reference Indians may not need such special supports after a decade {PART XVI Special Provisions Relating To Certain Classes Art-330Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People& Art-332 :Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of the States . Art-334 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. Art-335. Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and postsconsistently 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 but Art-335 did not specify any quantum and time limits.}.Of course the directive principle Art- 46 also laid down for Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections laying down that The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. Art-46 again referred to SC & ST in particular and also talked of ‘weaker sections’ without laying down any definition of ‘weaker section’, surely the other backward classes( OBC ) as have been identified by the successive government for providing special supports in government services & admissions to higher education institutions have been identified under the guidelines of directive principle Article-46. No doubt as on date reservation support in services & admissions in education institutions have been provided to OBCs like have been for the SC&ST but no any reservations in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha have been provided to OBC although in very low tones people have been over last 3 decades been also talking of that & may be the demands for that may become more vocal in coming times. It may not be out of place to mention here that the elders in 1950 anticipated that the democratic governments in India republic would be so seriously concerned for their people that there will be no any need after that for retaining the prop supports in the form reservations in legislature for the socially & educationally backward Indian subjects (SC) and the Schedule Tribes but the position on ground has been much disappointing where in instead of reducing the numbers of socially & educationally backward Indian citizens needing support for becoming of superior government services/ higher education institutions and the legislature need has been felt for including more of Indian citizens in reserved classes as another category ( although only in services & higher educational institutions) as OBC . Some say that the political leadership of India elected for driving the ‘cart’ of India as a welfare state have not been able to truthfully deliver to ‘her’ voter citizen. May be amongst the identified SC &ST there are also some castes & tribes which have been more denied to avail the benefits of props. As per records available at no time after 1950 any exercise has been got done by the governments to pin the reasons for having not achieved the goal in 10 years & thereafter amending Art-334 for extension beyond 1960 with simultaneously applying some corrections. May be now with including caste in population census some analysis for betterment would be possible.
To be continued
(The writer is Sr Journalist & analyst of J&K affairs [email protected] 0419796096)