Mahasabha asks members not to specify sub-caste, mention Brahmin in upcoming caste survey

Bengaluru: The Akhila Karnataka Brahmana Mahasabha has said that community members need not specify their sub-caste in the upcoming Social and Educational Survey (caste census). 

In a statement, Mahasabha president S Raghunath said the community members should identify themselves as ‘Hindu’ in the religion column and ‘Brahmana’ as the caste.

The Mahasabha has also asked Brahmins to “compulsorily” participate in the survey, which is scheduled to start from September 22. It has also conveyed to community members that there is no harm in answering all 60 questions in the questionnaire.

The Mahasabha is also making preparations to file a public interest litigation (PIL) on the upcoming survey.

In the junked 2015 survey, there were 15.64 lakh Brahmins in the state. A total of 11.85 lakh people enumerated themselves as just ‘Brahmana’. The remaining 3.79 lakh are divided among 58 sub-castes. The most populous sub-caste was the Goud Saraswat Brahmins at 1.14 lakh, followed by Havyaka Brahmins (86,595).

The survey found 23,249 Smartha and 13,302 Madhwa Brahmins. In 2015, when the survey was carried out, there were 36 Kashmiri Pandits in the state.