The Tuesday Interview | 'Caste is a reality. You close your eyes at your own risk'

The Congress party is aggressively pushing for social justice, championing key initiatives like a caste-based census, scrapping the 50 per cent reservation cap, and advocating for a law to restore the SC/ST Sub Plan. It is also demanding quotas for OBCs in private educational institutions.

The party appointed Anil ‘JaiHind’, a doctor-turned-politician who worked with B P Mandal of the Mandal Commission fame, as its OBC department chairman. He spoke to DH’s Shemin Joy. Excerpts:

There is a sudden interest in ‘social justice’. How will it pan out?

Congress is giving special emphasis on social justice. OBCs count for 60-65% all over India. A large number of OBCs in North India have been swayed by Hindutva. Right now, OBCs are not sensitive to their constitutional rights. Our main job is to sensitise them. There is a
new kind of ‘Manuvaad’ that keeps the poor, the Dalits, and backward and extremely backward people away from education, jobs, and rights. We must address these issues.

What is your roadmap?

Voltaire once said that slaves break their chains only when they realise they are slaves. We need to make the OBCs aware of the injustice meted out to them. They must be made aware that their attention is being diverted to insignificant things. We will have to build our organisation district-wise and connect with other outfits working for OBCs, SCs, STs and others. We will conduct ideological training. Our weapon is our ideology. The existing culture of mobilisation based on ensuring crowds for meetings does not help.

You referred to OBCs in North India being attracted to Hindutva. How do you plan to win their confidence?

At present, there is a war between two ideologies: of equality and humanity against inequality and hatred. The Sangh Parivar believes in Manusmriti and caste hierarchy. The Constitution is based on equality, and we are fighting for equality. One must recall that RSS chief MS Golwalkar had opposed the Constitution, saying it does not contain anything of Manusmriti. Today, a select few have access to all resources, including education, and the rest are deprived of their rightful claim to resources. This exploitation through the caste system has made our society weak.

Do you expect the Modi government to conduct the caste census?

No. Because the caste census will break the foundation of Manusmriti. When the caste census is done, many will know that they are deprived of what is rightfully theirs. Such a realisation will prompt them to fight for equality. RSS will not allow this to happen. They do not speak about equality, as they want the status quo of hierarchy to be maintained.

Why is a caste census so central to the OBCs?

Once the caste count is out, people will come to know of their status in various sectors. Like, what is their share, say, in the corporate world? Now, most of the public assets have been privatised. Money is in the private sector. Once they are aware of their rightful share, they will start the fight for equality. RSS does not want this. They want everything to be under the control of Adani-Ambani, including the media, to control the narrative and use Hindu-Muslim to create a divide.

But some say a caste census will lead to caste polarisation.

Caste is a reality. It is the elephant in the room. You close your eyes at your own risk. Check the matrimonial columns in newspapers in metropolitan cities, and you will find how entrenched caste is. It is nonsense to say that there is no caste. We need to address the reality. Rather than put it under the carpet, we should catch it by its horns.

Congress’ past record on social justice is not impressive, which even Rahul Gandhi has acknowledged. So why should people trust Congress now?

I too had shared the sentiment that Congress had deviated from social justice in the past. I had left the Congress in 1992 after witnessing the anti-social justice stand of the P V Narasimha Rao government. But the Congress resolution in the 2023 Raipur Plenary and its call for ‘jitna abadi, utna haq’ (representation according to population) and Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatras attracted me back to the Congress. Arjun Singh’s initiative as education minister to give OBCs a quota in educational institutions was also very useful. I would say its impact is more than the quota in jobs. The problem with Congress is that it does not know how to publicise its contributions.

How is the social justice plank helping Congress in Bihar?

We can see the change, which is substantiated by third-party surveys. The Extremely Backward Classes, who had gone with the BJP, are now coming back to Congress. The BJP and JD(U) have realised that. People are inspired by Rahul ji.