Both NDA partners and I.N.D.I.A. bloc allies are vying to claim credit for the Modi government’s recent announcement to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census. In an interview with DH’s Sumit Pande, BJP OBC Morcha chief and central parliamentary board member K Laxman asserts that unlike the Telangana and Karnataka surveys, the caste count conducted as per the Census Act will carry legal sanctity. Excerpts:
The Congress says it was the opposition’s relentless campaign that forced the union government to announce a caste census.
It is a landmark decision. Modi ji and the Bharatiya Janata Party believe in sabka saath, sabka vikas. The opposition has no moral right to speak on the caste census because it is the Nehru family and Congress alone who opposed reservations for Other Backward Classes after Independence. In 1952, the Kaka Kalekar Commission recommended OBC reservations. Nehru was PM for 17 years but did not even debate or discuss the issue.
Rahul Gandhi should know that three members of his family have been prime ministers. His mother was a de facto PM. Despite being in power for 54 years, they did nothing for the OBCs.
Caste enumeration will be a complex exercise due to overlapping caste and religious identities.
Of course, it is a complex exercise. It should be done only after thorough research, unlike the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) by the UPA government, which was done by private agencies and not by the Home Ministry. They spent Rs 5,000 crore in vain. The Manmohan Singh government did not publish any figures; it was a blunder, and around eight crore mistakes were reported in the data collected by SECC enumerators.
The BJP believes it (enumeration) should be done thoroughly. The Mandal Commission has recognised more than 3,300 castes as OBC at the national level. States have their respective OBC lists; there is also a separate central list. So, based on these facts, the government may come out with an effective process to collect data. Enumerators will be properly trained; due orientation courses will be conducted for them. The census exercise this time will be held under the Census Act.
Unlike the surveys that have been done in other states like Telangana and Karnataka, the census will have a legal sanctity.
Will the enumeration segregate all identities, like a Pasmanda Muslim or backward Muslim or OBC Christians?
There are Pasmanda (Dalit) Muslim castes which have been recognised as backward communities (BC) by the Mandal Commission. Even Christians who have converted from the Scheduled Caste have been identified as BC in certain states. The caste census data will ensure real BCs get justice. Further, we will have data on each caste: who is socially backward, who is economically backward, or who is educationally backward. All these will become clear from the census, and the government can accordingly come out with proper planning and proper budgeting and appropriate policies.
What do you mean by real backward communities getting benefitted?
Real backward communities are those that have faced social discrimination and are economically, educationally, and politically backward. We will have a yardstick for identifying backwardness. That includes Muslims if they are socially discriminated against and are really backward Pasmanda Muslims. The Mandal Commission has already recognised backward castes among Muslims also, and they are included in the OBC list.
Do you think, based on the data, the creamy layer threshold should be revised from the current limit of Rs 8 lakh per year?
The Supreme Court has given a judgement while considering the Mandal Commission recommendations. One of the recommendations was to constitute a commission for the backward classes. The second recommendation was for the introduction of the creamy layer criteria on BC quotas. Modi ji has given constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.
We have extended reservations to OBCs in educational institutions like Kendriya Vidyalaya and Sainik School. Now we have announced a caste census also.
In the south, people have started calling Modi ji as Abhinava Ambedkarji and Abhinava Mahatma Phuleji.
Do you think the 50% ceiling on reservations set by the Supreme Court should be revisited?
After all these reports come, when the debate starts and the discussion happens, we will think about it. Let the figures come out, such as the percentage of castes, and OBCs. We conducted the first survey of its kind in Bihar.
They passed a bill as well, but unfortunately, it is now sub judice due to a
court case, and the government is contesting the issue.