RJD MP Manoj Jha.
Credit: PTI Photo
The Modi government has taken the country by surprise with the announcement of conducting caste enumeration during the decennial census, in what some say blunts the Opposition's key campaign plank. Senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha, also a Professor in Delhi University, spoke to DH’s Shemin Joy on the development and what it means for the Opposition.
Are you taken by surprise by the announcement about Caste Census?
Surprise wouldn’t be the correct word. I am astonished. Astonished in the sense that a party which was actually positioning itself against the very idea of caste-based enumeration has taken this decision. Their top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers, were ridiculing it whenever Opposition leaders like Lalu Prasad-ji or Akhilesh Yadav-ji or the entire ‘bahujan’ population were demanding it. They called it a divisive agenda. The question is, have they realised that without a genuine scientific enumeration, any kind of development priorities or policies actually is meaningless.
Isn’t it unprecedented that the decision has come in the midst of a security issue after the Pahalgam terror attack?
What I see is a party that was insisting that this cannot be allowed, has announced this. They tried to block a caste survey in an indirect way in Bihar through a PIL by proxy individuals. I would rather have a hyphen between security concerns and a pressing demand like this. These two things shouldn't be clubbed. I have not read the mind of the government. I cannot do that because this government more often than not behaves in a manner where you don't actually know whether the collective responsibility of the Cabinet means anything, whether an individual is over and above the Cabinet. So I don't wish to get into that. What is important is to underline the fact that all Opposition leaders were ridiculed and laughed at when they raised this issue. Suddenly, if the BJP has woken up to this reality, I think it is the victory of, I would say, 85 per cent. I am worried about what will their chief ministers and top leadership do now after making derogatory slogans like ‘batenge to katenge’. Where will they hide their faces? But I would repeat that security concern is again an important issue. As I said, there is a hyphen, and a hyphen is big enough. But even on security concerns, what we have seen in the last few days is photo opportunities. I mean, a country like India cannot be run like this. This is irresponsible behavior.
What would have been the urgency? Was it Bihar polls that prompted them to do this thing?
First of all, I have been saying this. On July 31, 2024, I was speaking at a public forum and had said that this government will have to do a caste-based census. I repeated it in Parliament. That time I was ridiculed by many, supported by many, including some of the BJP members who believe that this is an important issue. You cannot put an idea, which has arrived, on hold. So, they will have to face serious questions on why they blocked it earlier. Why did you put roadblocks in the way Bihar was moving forward? We had requested you to put it in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution when the quantum of reservation was enhanced in Bihar following a caste survey. You did not even utter a single word, and the Prime Minister himself spoke on many platforms against caste-based enumeration. So if they have done it keeping in view of the Bihar election, I will advise them that ultimately, people look for who were the original authors, whose idea it was. People will find no presence of them.
The government has not provided details about the timeline and other details about the exercise while announcing the Caste Census. Why is that?
They have reduced the census to such a shoddy level. Census is a very serious business. It had to happen in 2021 but it has not happened. No nation in the world except for one or two has postponed it. So we don’t know when this will be carried out. They have clubbed it with the decennial Census. Census is clubbed with delimitation. The women’s quota in Parliament and Assemblies is dependent on the Census and delimitation. So they have put many things together. It is important for the government to openly put it in front of everyone what kind of scientific criteria, what kind of timeline they are looking at. It cannot be simply a rhetorical statement that the government has agreed to hold a census, for which I will say, thank you very much. But a thank you note should also be given to Mulayam Singh-ji, who is no more, Sharad Yadav-ji, who is no more, a thank you note should be given to Lalu-ji, and the young leader Tejashwi Yadav.
While announcing this decision, Union Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw attacked the Opposition saying that they were using Caste Census for political gains. Top BJP leaders have said the Caste Census emanates from ‘urban naxal’ thought and ‘Batenge toh Katenge’. How do you respond?
I am actually shocked by the sheer hollowness of their understanding. These are serious sociological and anthropological business. Vaishnaw is well educated, but I would advise him to understand what caste actually means. Why do caste and class go together? Why certain castes have not seen the kind of representation they should have. Now, these are the kinds of issues if you call it a political issue. I don't know what Vaishnaw means.