At a time when the Opposition led by Congress is pressurising the NDA Government to conduct caste census across the country, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Monday said it has no objection to the census as it could be useful for welfare activities while cautioning against its exploitation for electoral gains.
It also said no step in the direction of sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be taken without the consensus among the communities concerned.
Making these assertions, RSS Prachar Pramukh (chief spokesperson) Sunil Ambekar said after a three-day conclave in Palakkad, “ the RSS thinks that definitely, for all welfare activities, particularly those targeting such communities or castes which are lagging behind — for whom special attention is needed — for that, if sometimes the Government needs the numbers, it is a well-established practice. Earlier also, it (the Government) has taken (such data), and so it can do it again.
But it should be done only for the welfare of those communities and castes. It should not be used as a political tool for elections. So we put this forth with a line of caution for everyone.”
“As a Hindu society, caste and caste relations are sensitive issues. It is an important issue for our national unity and integrity. So, it should be dealt with very sensitively and not on the basis of elections or electoral practices and politics,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi has been a staunch supporter of a nationwide socio-economic caste census, which was also part of the party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.
Calls for a national caste census crystallised after Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), the ruling party in Bihar, published the results of a statewide caste survey. Released in October last, it revealed that over 80 per cent of the state’s population belongs to extremely backward classes.
The RSS had clarified its stance on the issue saying it was not opposed to the government conducting a nationwide exercise.
“Recently, a discussion around caste census has started again. We believe it must be used for all-encompassing progress of the society, and while doing so all sides must ensure that social harmony and integrity is not disturbed,” Ambekar had said.
The RSS’s clarification came after Shridhar Gadge, an RSS functionary, sparked controversy by calling the caste census a “futile exercise” that would serve only certain individuals.
“A caste census will quantify caste-wise populations. But it is not going to be in the interest of society or the nation,” Gadge had said.
Following the release of the Bihar caste survey report, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said the BJP had never actually opposed a caste census.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking direction to the Centre for conducting a socio-economic caste census for the welfare of backward and other marginalised sections, saying the issue falls in the domain of governance.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti allowed the petitioner P Prasad Naidu to withdraw his plea in which he had sought a direction for expediting the enumeration of data for census.
“What can be done about this? The issue is in the domain of governance. It is a policy matter,” the bench told senior advocate Ravishankar Jandyala and advocate Sravan Kumar Karanam, appearing for the petitioner.
Jandyala submitted that several countries have done it but India is yet to do. “The Indra Sawhney judgement of 1992 (Mandal Commission verdict) has said that this census has to be done periodically,” he contended.
The bench told him it was dismissing the petition as the court could not interfere in the issue. Sensing the mood of the court, the counsel sought permission to withdraw the plea, which was allowed by the bench.
