MUMBAI: Although all political parties have welcomed the central government’s resolve to include a caste census as part of the national census, experts and officials are citing the upheaval over caste-based quotas that Maharashtra has been witnessing over the last decade and have expressed apprehensions about the potential unrest within and between communities once the micro-level data is revealed.
Petitioners fighting for Maratha reservation and those arrayed it said the caste census would open a Pandora’s Box. Their contention is that it will not help weed out backwardness with the aid of reservation, as there is no room for more of the latter. At the same time, they maintain that reducing the existing quota on the basis of population will not be easy for political reasons and could lead to more tussle within communities.
Most social organisations have welcomed the central government’s step. OBC reservation petitioner Mrunal Dhole Patil said that it would help in determining an accurate percentage of castes, paving the way for proportionate representation in politics, scholarships and jobs. “In independent India, every census has been a caste census, as it has determined the SC-ST population,” she said. “The OBC reservation came into effect in the early 1990s, but no caste-based survey has been conducted since then. The proposed step, by scientifically ascertaining the percentage of castes, will curb the disputes on the reservation given to them.”
Dhole Patil said that though many commissions and committees had been appointed by the government in the wake of reservation-related issues, they did not stand up to legal scrutiny. “The caste-based surveys by Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana were always contested for their sanctity, methodology and legal standing,” she said. “Besides, these commissions always tend to be biased, as they are constituted with a specific purpose in mind unlike the caste census.”
Balasaheb Sarate Patil, a pro-Maratha reservation petitioner said that the caste census was an “unconstitutional” step. “The constitutional objective of a caste census was never the reinforcement of caste identity,” he said. “Though we legalised the caste system by issuing caste certificates post-independence, the caste census will give the caste system an eternal face. According to the Constitution, reservation should always be based on the socio-economic condition of a community or family and not on caste.” Sarate Patil added that the revelation of caste percentages would lead to the deprivation of marginal communities, as they would lose political importance when it came to their voicing power in the political system.
The reservation activist also dubbed the caste census “anti-Hindu”. “Once the percentage of sub-castes is revealed, it will lead to infighting within communities,” he said. “Since the Hindu religion has a greater number of castes and classes than other religions, the census will result in Hindus fighting among themselves.”
A Mantralaya official dealing with reservation-related issues said that the census could lead to a demand for sub-classifications within the reservation quota. “Despite the Supreme Court order of sub-classification of the scheduled caste quota last year, the implementation has halted because of fear of a backlash,” he said. “A similar situation may arise if the quota is determined on the basis of population share in the future.”
The official pointed to the Banthia Commission’s revelation of OBCs being only 38% while their reservation quota was based on their projected percentage of 52%. “Reports of commissions constituted for Maratha reservation have also said that the population of the community is less than projected,” he said. “If this is revealed in the caste-based census, there will be a demand for a reduction in their quota.”
Idris Multani, the BJP’s minority cell chief, said that the caste census would help the Muslim community the most. “The backward castes, called Pasmandas, are 80% of the Muslim community,” he said. “Most of the political, social and financial benefits are reaped by the Ashrafs, the wealthy 20% of Muslims. There are hardly any Pasmanda Muslim MPs or MLAs, and the situation is the same in other sectors. There could be a tussle between the Pasmandas and Ashrafs once the census is conducted, but it will ultimately help poor Muslims.” There are over 30 Muslim castes such as Beldar, Fakir, Ansari, Tamboli, Majawar and Maniyar, and most of them are in the OBC category.
Shrihari Aney, former advocate-general of Maharashtra, said that the caste census could lead to unrest within communities and political exploitation but it would nevertheless provide a fundamental base to take corrective steps for equal opportunities. “It will give access to the factual data that we do not have currently, and will result in application of mind in matters of reservation in jobs and education,” he said.
Aney added that though the Constitution was against the identification of caste, it did not stop governments from the mandatory steps related to the reservation to castes, which was what happened in the case of the OBC quota. “As for the reservation issues in Maharashtra, if the census reveals adverse data for the Maratha community, they could stage an uproar and resist corrective steps,” he said. “But that should not stop anybody from creating a base for addressing problems.”