After nudge by high command, Cabinet gives nod for fresh survey of castes
Nudged by the Congress high command, which had been petitioned by the politically-dominant Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayat communities against accepting the Socio-Economic and Education Survey (caste census) report, the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod for a fresh survey.
The Congress high command, on Tuesday, suggested to the Karnataka government to hold re-enumeration of caste data within a stipulated time to address concerns of some communities who complained of being 'left out.'
With the Cabinet decision, the caste census of 2015 — which had been conducted for the first time during the colonial times in 1931 — is no longer valid.
Reason for re-survey
Saying that the lapse of 10 years since the conduct of the survey, by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes headed by H. Kantharaj in 2015, as the reason for re-survey, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in the post-Cabinet briefing, told presspersons: 'As per the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1995, a fresh survey is mandated every 10 years. A lot of changes would have taken place in this last 10 years in the social and educational realm.'
He also said that the Cabinet had, in principle, agreed to the survey report submitted by Mr. Hegde.
When Mr. Siddaramaiah's response was sought on if the State government was under pressure from the high command, the Chief Minister said: 'The process was on. The high command has also advised for a new survey. We are not doing it just because they asked us to do a new survey. We have not succumbed to the pressure of the high command.'
Asked why the State Cabinet had accepted the report in April, 2025, when it was nearly 10 years (survey conducted between April 11-2015 and 30 May, 2015), the Chief Minister said: 'It was only after discussions started that we realised that by law and Constitutional provisions it has to be done after a lapse of 10 years. As per Section 11 of the Act, any report after 10 years is not tenable. The provisions in the Act is clear that a new survey has to be conducted every 10 years after which a new list of backward classes could be drawn by either deleting existing castes or adding new castes.'
It was also pointed out to the Chief Minister that when Mr. Hegde submitted his report, the survey had not completed 10 years.
Within 90 days
Stating that the fresh survey work would be completed 'within 90 days of notifying', he said that members to the backward classes commission will be appointed in the 'next two to three days'.
Currently, barring chairman Madhusudan R. Naik, who was appointed in February 2025, posts of nominated members are vacant. Government appoints five members to the commission besides the chairman.
It may be mentioned here that when the first Siddaramaiah-led government conducted the first survey in 2015 at a cost of ₹165 crore, Karnataka was the first State in the country to undertake the survey after the national exercise conducted by the British in 1931. Bihar and Telangana have done the survey after Karnataka completed the survey.
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