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| Census on caste basis is a large step towards a small goal | | | SUSHIL VAKIL | 9/12/2010 11:29:40 PM |
| The one certain way of making things worse than they are is saying they are worse than they are - Lord Hailsham.
Indeed, caste based census is a retrograde step. It is simply an attempt to divide people on the basis of caste. The attempt is being made at a time when some parts of the country are engulfed by terrorism, Maoist violence and corruption. Apart from these, the country is also divided on the basis of religion-one community clashing with the other. Apart from that, the cost of the caste census is likely to be around Rs 2,000 crore. This will be in addition to the Rs 2,200 crore to be spent on the decadal, and more comprehensive, headcount. Are we in a position to spend such a huge amount on an unnecessary exercise when half of our population sleeps with only one meal because of unmanageable prices of essential commodities. Of course. No.
The last census when caste-wise data was collected, tabulated and published in detail was in the year 1931. As such, the latest caste census is back now after a gap of almost 80 years. Undeniably, the caste census has become a reality with the ruling Congress having given it a go-ahead despite sharp divisions within. It is surprising that despite opposition from all sides the Yadav trio made it to happen. The reason being that politicians who have no influence among other sections want to continue caste system to win the elections. No doubt, the government says that answering questions regarding caste will be optional but critics argue that such a move will only encourage social hierarchy and breed inequality.
A moot question arises: who support caste based census? Only those, who have been in power since decades on their vote, support and loyalty. The demand for caste enumeration came to the fore during the budget session of Parliament when three backward class leaders - Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Lalu Prasad (RJD) and Sharad Yadav (JD-U) demanded it. All these political parties, though for the name sake "socialist" in reality depend on the votes of some castes. There was, however, no unanimity in the main ruling party in the coalition, the Congress and the main Opposition, the BJP. But later on BJP extended its support to Congress in getting the move through. The Yadav trio while having support of a large majority in the House wanted a clear assurance on whether caste enumeration would be part of the ongoing census.
Despite delaying the process, the government had ultimately succumbed to pressure by referring it to Cabinet for its final nod. The Cabinet which met on September 9, 2010 after a lengthy discussion, decided to hold the enumeration of castes other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from June to September of 2011. "After considering various options, based on the responses of various political parties a separate house to house enumeration of caste will be done from June 2011 to September 2011," Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said in a statement. "This satisfies all the various requirements that have been projected and discussed and debated extensively. "The Rs 30 billion worth project will maintain a database of the over 1 billion population of India. The names, addresses as well as caste details will beThe caste census on the one hand may actually help the socially and economically backward people but there are more chances regarding the misuse of the same by the caste-centric political parties. Moreover, the caste census is also likely to disturb the peace and progress in India's villages where people were slowly coming out of the caste prison and over 70 percent of India's youth whose liberal minds will now get imprisoned in the petty caste issues.
The caste enumeration may be beneficial in US as the census data reveals demography details including race and origin. But the same can't be applicable to India as many communities are already at loggerheads due to the caste systems. It is ironical that in twenty first century some people belonging to lower casts are not allowed to draw water from taps belonging to upper caste community. Even they are not allowed to visit the temples erected by the upper castes.
Last but not the least the holding of census on caste basis will not only create further divisions in the Hindu community but also change its dwindling democratic character. The fact being that caste system is mostly prevalent in Hindu society. There is no caste system in any other religion like Islam, Christianity, Sikhism or Budhism etc. We have examples of how elections are being contested and candidates selected in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and some southern states on caste basis. Even at the time of elections almost all political parties workout election campaigns keeping in view the population ratio of different communities.
This division gives the chance to our leaders to divide the society. They will continue to divide India and make brothers fight. Only we can stop this by saying no to Caste system. Our freedom fighters, progressive writers and social reformers fought against the evil caste system and dreamt for a caste less society. But now the politicians support it to just grab the votes of their caste to continue in power. We should strive for abolition of caste system but not to encourage it. The progressive thinking people, students, nationalists, democrats and intellectuals should all unite and oppose this caste based census as it is a part of "divisive agenda for short-term political gain. |
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