Prashant Kishore direct question to Rahul Gandhi on caste census

The demand for conducting the caste Census across the country has drawn much attention, the different regional political parties like congress have come out very strongly in favor of it. Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the opposition, he has supported such a census arguing that it should be connected with the issues of reservation policies.

However, there has been an increase in such demands, and yet the ruling coalition the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not given much emphasis to the issue, implying the party’s unwillingness to endorse the move. It is for this reason that some analysts have recorded the BJP as being aware of the fact that in the event of the caste census being conducted, the party is likely to stand to suffer from it more than it benefits.

Concerns from Social Experts

Lately, social scientists have expressed their concern about the possible ramifications of the caste census especially if the policy changes will be based on the proportion of population affected by the caste system. In this sense, they say that the minority castes could actually be at a major disservice if the functioning of the reservation system is changed based on the fresh data collection of population.

Prashant Kishore better known as PK, an election analyst and a politician has also echoed this sentiments on why caste census may not solve most social issues. But Kishore brought the argument down to earth by stating that even if caste census is beneficial in identification of the demographic positions of these social classes, the issue of poverty cannot be solved through caste census. Instead, he wanted Rahul Gandhi and his Congress Party release a manifesto on poverty eradication than demanding for caste census in Congress governed states of Telangana and Karnataka.

Pressure from NDA Allies

In the NDA itself, there is building up pressure to factor in the demand for caste census especially from a principal alliance partner JD (U). This factor was highlighted especially in a recent meeting of the “Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of OBCs held in Delhi. The committee, headed by the BJP MP Ganesh Singh and consisting of thirty members of both houses of the Parliament, witnessed much demand for employment of caste based enumeration in the present census. The committee has directed to meet the Union Home Ministry to seek its permission to conduct caste census in addition to the general census which is pending now.

Historical Context and Political Implications

The issue of caste census in India is not a new problem in the politics of the country. It has come up many times though, especially during voting periods when campaign devour the micro-blogging site. During the previous Lok Sabha elections, it was the opposition which was galvanising voters on this issue through the Congress, the DMK, the SP, and the RJD. These political parties were successful in setting an opinion that caste census would be helpful to the deprived sections of society and thus received considerable support from such sections.

BJP’s Electoral Concerns

It is, however, intriguing that the BJP has not shown the same enthusiasm for a caste census and this seems more and more motivated by electoral politics. The perceived fear of the party leadership is that the enumeration of caste census might negatively affect some specific voter groups mostly in the core vote bank states such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. It has been stated in the BJP that the party’s failure to act on this front has led them to lose certain communities within the major states.

The Ongoing Debate

DMK leader and the member of OBC Welfare Committee, TR Balu while Congress leader and member of OBC Welfare Committee Manikkam Tagore have also maintained the demand for the caste census. JD(U) leader Giridhar Yadav also stressed the same factor, recalling to the committe that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has had already launched caste census exercise in Bihar in 2023. Even JD(U), which is part of the NDA, has not deviated from its stand on the caste census issue and it is quite obvious that Nitish Kumar too remains committed to the demand.

Growing Pressure on the Central Government

There is a increasing tendency of the central government to decide on caste census from opposition party and some of the party of its own. Chief ally of NDA and a regional party of Bihar, JD(U) has been supporting the census call and so is most of the regional political parties across the parties of the spectrum. This internal and external pressure is putting BJP led government in a difficult situation where on one hand government has to handle complexities of coalition politics and on the other hand it has to address the demands of its electorate.

Broader Debate on Social Justice

The issue of caste census has been sold under the banner of social justice and fairness especially in the distribution of resources. Critics suggest that it is crucial to obtain demography information because government policies should reflect such peculiarities in order to overcome discriminated groups’ difficulties. But critics worry that caste survey will only widen the social rift and even bring about other negative ramifications especially in the context of election.

Conclusion

Demand for a caste census has turned into an important political topic of discussion in India and now Congress and other regional parties have joined this cause. The BJP has been very reluctant considering certain negative political implications, but as the pressure comes from the allies, as well as the opponents increases, the central government might eventually make certain specific decisions. While the heated discussion goes on, it remains unclear whether and how the caste census will materialize in the future, yet its potential impact on the shape and dynamics of Indian society and politics is going to be significant.

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