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Increasing Demands for Caste-Based Census Puts Pressure on Modi Government

Increasing Demands for Caste-Based Census Puts Pressure on Modi Government

Sputnik International

In India, a census is done every 10 years but the last caste census was conducted in 1931 by the British. 04.08.2021, Sputnik International

2021-08-04T08:09+0000

2021-08-04T08:09+0000

2022-12-10T11:42+0000

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The differences between India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies regarding a caste-based census in the country are starting to emerge as the BJP-led federal government has refused to enumerate the population by caste. According to the records of India's Parliament, this demand is almost always raised before every census, usually by those belonging to other backward classes (OBC) – a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially disadvantaged – while the upper castes normally oppose this suggestion.Talking about the importance of a caste-based census, General Secretary K. C. Tyagi from BJP ally Janata Dal-United (JD-U) told Sputnik: “There are various schemes of the government which are implemented to empower the deprived and marginalised section of the society. If the benefits of the schemes have to reach the targeted section then it is important to conduct a census accordingly.”“We did it for scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) in 2011 after which the central and state governments initiated several schemes for their empowerment. We want a similar thing for the other sections too,” he added.Mounting Pressure for Caste-Based CensusThe demand for the caste census is being raised to give underprivileged communities more representation in government jobs and educational institutions. The states of Bihar, Maharashtra, and Odisha back the census. Bihar's government had even passed a resolution regarding this twice – on 18 February 2019 and 27 February 2020 -– and sent it to the federal government while the Odisha government decided to conduct its own caste-based census along with the national population enumeration exercise.However, federal minister Nityanand Rai informed the Parliament in July this year that the government decided as a matter of policy only to count SCs and STs in its census.Days after the refusal of the government, Bihar State Chief Nitish Kumar reiterated the demand for the caste census, saying it's significant for the “overall development of the country," while his meeting with opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav over the issue has made the BJP jittery.Demand From Other PartiesNaved Siddiqui, the national spokesperson for the Samajwadi Party, told Sputnik: “This will ensure the share of a particular caste in the government and its schemes on the basis of population. As of now, a lot of section is not able to get the benefit of reservation therefore if the BJP wants to stick to its agenda of 'Collective Efforts, Inclusive Development,' then it should conduct the caste census.”Slamming the BJP for not conducting such a census, Arun Rajbhar, the general secretary of the Suheldev Bahujan Samaj Party, alleged the BJP is afraid: “Narendra Modi had once said that when the BJP will form the government, they will conduct caste census. But now they are not doing it.""When the government can do a census of cows, tigers, buffaloes, pigs, goats then why not caste? Are the OBCs worst than the animals? They simply don’t want that the marginalised section should be empowered,” he added.

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