Karnataka's new caste survey to be conducted from September 22 to October 7

Bengaluru: Over a month after it set aside the social and educational survey (caste census) conducted by the Kantharaj Commission in 2015, the Karnataka government has decided to conduct a fresh social and educational survey for 15 days from September 22 to October 7 during the Dasara holidays.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened a top-level meeting on Wednesday, where he directed the Backward Classes Commission headed by Madhusudan R Naik to submit the report by October-end.

“There must be a comprehensive survey of the economic condition of each individual in the state, whether they own land or not and so on. The survey report will be the basis for the next Budget. The main aim of the survey is to end caste-based discrimination. This should be a model survey for the entire country.”

DH had reported on July 12 that the Backward Classes Commission was proposing to conduct the survey during the 15-day Dasara holidays period.

The decision comes on the back of the ‘Bengaluru Declaration’ of the Congress, where it urged the Union government to conduct a caste census by including social, economic, educational, employment and political aspects in it.

The previous Kantharaj Commission had used a questionnaire with 54 questions for its survey. The commission is likely to explore the possibilities of including more aspects this time.

“The survey should be scientific and transparent, and the questions should be finalised after consulting the experts’ committee,” the chief minister added.

Siddaramaiah directed the commission to study the Social and Educational Survey conducted in Telangana, another Congress-ruled state. In the Bengaluru declaration, the Congress had also urged the Union government to follow the Telangana model for the census.

It has been decided to form a high-level committee to supervise the survey, which will be conducted through a mobile app.

The survey should be comprehensive and proper precaution should be taken to ensure that there is no scope for complaints. No one must be left out of the survey.

As many as 1.65 enumerators will be utilised for the exercise. “Alongside teachers, department officials will also be used. All related departments should work in coordination and ensure that the exercise is successful,” the chief minister said.

Siddaramaiah directed officials to ensure that the exercise is conducted properly in Bengaluru City limits. During the previous survey as well as the just-concluded comprehensive survey of Scheduled Castes (SCs), though the surveys were successful throughout the state, the response in Bengaluru city had been lukewarm.

Caste census has been a political hot potato in the state for around a decade now. While the dominant, landowning Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities had opposed the earlier survey of being “unscientific” and having “undercounted” their numbers, the ‘backward’ communities had welcomed the initiative as a right step towards ensuring social justice.