Latest news with #KakaKalelkarCommission
New Indian Express
29-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Congress will pay price for neglecting SES-2015, claims Union Minister Bhupender Yadav
BENGALURU: Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Saturday predicted that the Congress in Karnataka will meet the same fate as its national counterpart as it has ignored the Socio-Economic Educational Survey-2015 (caste census report). Delivering the keynote address at the seminar 'Caste Census: Retrospective-Prospective' organised by the Social Justice Awareness Forum at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Yadav said that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his government and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi were anti-backward classes. The Karnataka government had recently shelved the caste census of 2015 and opted for a fresh survey. Yadav said that the Congress lost power at the Centre because it ignored the Kaka Kalelkar Commission report recommending the upliftment of backward classes socially and educationally. He expressed confidence that when the backward classes become aware that the Congress is averse to their upliftment in Karnataka, it will not be able to return to power. 'Why did those who (Rahul Gandhi) keep the Constitution in their pockets not implement the Kaka Kalelkar Commission report? After the country became independent from the Emergency and from family rule, the Janata Party came to power at the Centre. It also formed the Mandal Commission. The Congress was out of power when the issue of justice for OBCs came to the fore. But when it came to power a few years later, it had ignored the Mandal Commission report as it did it with the Kaka Kalelkar report,' Yadav said, adding that the BJP-backed VP Singh government implemented the Mandal Commission report and got reservation for OBCs.
India Gazette
16-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav slams Congress over Karnataka caste survey, calls it 'political cover-up'
New Delhi [India], June 17 (ANI): Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday accused the Congress-led Karnataka government of misusing public funds and attempting a 'political cover-up' through its re-enumeration of the 2015 caste survey. 'The reason India was considered a fragile economy in 2014 was due to the Congress party's misuse of taxpayers' money through corruption and broke their trust. They must answer how Rs 165 crore was spent when Congress itself is now questioning the accuracy of that data. Who will take responsibility for that expenditure? Either they were simply travelling, as they often do,' said Yadav. 'Congress is repeating its old patterns, and we demand accountability for Karnataka's costly exercise. Their re-survey is nothing more than a political cover-up,' said Yadav. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav also accused the Congress party, accusing it of consistently betraying the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and reducing social justice to a mere political slogan. 'The OBC community has always been betrayed by the Congress. If the Congress had genuine intent, it would have formed a new commission after scrapping the Kaka Kalelkar Commission... Instead, they dismissed the commission's report and continued to rule... Later, when the Mandal Commission was constituted and the Supreme Court upheld its legality, the Congress worked to weaken the OBC Commission,' 'Congress has never stood with the poor, OBCs, or SC/ST communities. Their history shows a pattern of neglect. Even now, their actions in Karnataka expose their hypocrisy -- Rahul Gandhi calls the state an ideal model, yet the timing and contradictions around the caste survey re-enumeration prove that social justice is just a showpiece for them,' he added. Yadav also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for addressing the long-standing issue of reservations in admissions to central schools and credited the Modi government's economic initiatives with lifting crores of people out of poverty. 'Misleading the OBC community has been Congress's policy; delivering justice to them has never been their intent,' Yadav said, reiterating the BJP's commitment to inclusive welfare and empowerment. This comes after Siddaramaiah earlier said that they accepted the suggestion made by top Congress leadership to re-enumerate the case census data. 'Discussions were held regarding the caste census as concerns were raised by some organisations, religious heads, and even a few ministers. The report submitted on the caste census has been accepted in principle. There is an agreement that a caste enumeration should be conducted. We have also agreed to this,' he said. (ANI)
Hans India
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Caste census, OBC politics, PM Modi's global recognition in Cyprus shape BJP's political narrative
Hours after the Union government on Monday issued a notification for conducting India's 16th census with caste enumeration in 2027, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav claimed, "The Congress has always betrayed and deceived the OBC community." Addressing media personnel in New Delhi, the Union Minister while taking a jibe at the grand old party said, "If the Congress was ever sincere about OBC welfare, they would have acted on the Kaka Kalelkar Commission report", referencing the first Backward Classes commission set up in 1953. Yadav emphasised that the Congress, even after returning to power, did not implement the Mandal Commission's recommendations. "It was only after the Congress lost power that the Janata Party formed the Mandal Commission. Even after the Janata Party's exit, Congress, while still in power, did not implement the Mandal Commission report. It was only after Congress was out of the picture that the Mandal Commission was implemented. Ironically, in Parliament, it was Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi who went on record opposing it", he added. Meanwhile, on the international front, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded Cyprus' highest civilian honour, the 'Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III,' by President Nikos Christodoulides. This recognition marks the 23rd international award conferred upon PM Modi, highlighting his global appeal and India's rising influence under his leadership. "This prestigious honour reflects the Prime Minister's global leadership and contributions to India's growing stature on the international stage. It is a moment of pride for all of us, as this marks the 23rd such international recognition for him", said Yadav. Similarly, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also congratulated the Prime Minister via social media platform X, saying, 'This reflects the continuously rising stature of India on the global stage." To further underline Prime Minister Modi's international image, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya shared a graphic on X titled '23 Global Honours Celebrated by 140 Crore Indians: India's Unstoppable Global Ascent.' The graphic, now widely circulated on social media, lists all 23 international awards received by PM Modi — from Kuwait, France, Greece, Egypt, and Russia to Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Mauritius, Afghanistan and Palestine.
The Hindu
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
The implications of caste enumeration
Numbers are the basis of governance; without them, the state loses confidence. In government offices, one may see that every item — electrical panels, fans, chairs — is meticulously numbered and logged, forming the foundation of administrative records. Thus, governments categorise and quantify all things. As Arjun Appadurai said, every commodity has its own social and political life — this principle also applies to the census of humankind. Since the emergence of the modern state in India, populations have been enumerated. The first colonial Census conducted in 1872 generated statistical data, allowing the British to control India and regulate every aspect of Indian life. While the Census was seen as an administrative enumeration, a statistical activity more than a political act of a reorganisation of groups, the introduction of the caste Census by H.H. Risley made the Census into a political instrument in a way it had never been used before. Risley had a dramatic influence on the rise of caste organisations and the exploding production of literature about the caste system from all over the subcontinent. Caste count pre-Independence In the late 19th century, upper-caste Indian elites sought political reforms and representation from the British. The Census figures enabled the colonial government to reshape India's complex social and cultural fabric through revenue taxation, education, and new opportunities generated in universities, public services and of course legislative bodies. This eventually led to the creation of a supporter base among upper-caste Indian elites for the British. However, with time, subaltern communities also began seeking access to education and political representation. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's emergence after the 1930s, challenged upper-caste hegemony, creating space for Dalits or the Backward Classes, as they were known then. While the Government of India Act, 1935 and the Indian Constitution brought dignity and equality to Dalits and Adivasis, thousands of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) were overlooked by the Constituent Assembly during this pivotal moment. Defining the OBC category In 1953, the Kaka Kalelkar Commission was established to identify OBC communities and propose welfare measures. In its 1955 report, the commission identified as many as 2,300 communities as OBCs. However, the report was not implemented due to vague criteria and lack of political consensus. In fact, the report received negative feedback from the then Congress Home Minister G.B. Pant, who thought that the emphasis on caste demonstrated 'the dangers of separatism' and was 'the greatest hindrance in the way of our progress toward an egalitarian society.' During this period, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia articulated a contrarian but transformative vision — 'We should follow a new principle that merit comes from opportunity. Sixty per cent of the high opportunities of the country should go to 90% of India's population —Shudras, Harijans, backward castes of religious minorities, women, and tribals. This principle should be applied to the most competitive exams and I reject the Prime Minister's (Jawaharlal Nehru) arguments, which rest on the deceptive foundation of merit and qualifications,' as articulated in the Rammanohar Lohia Rachanawali, a compilation of the works of Ram Manohar Lohia. After Lohia's intervention, the Mandal Commission in its 1980 report recommended a 27% reservation for OBCs in central government jobs and educational institutions, noting that OBCs constitute approximately 52% of India's population, on the basis of the 1931 caste Census data. In 1990, the V.P. Singh government allowed the partial implementation of Mandal Commission reports, generating much political heat across the country. However, the ensuing debate around reservations for the backward classes also raised the issue of a lack of new and more relevant data for more accurate policymaking, giving momentum to the demand for a caste census from this period on. Incidentally, between the Kaka Kalelkar Commission and Mandal Commission, the Mungeri Lal Commission was set up by former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur in Bihar, which also recommended reservations for the backward classes. The impact of the Mandal report The implementation of the Mandal Commission report has significantly changed the contours of OBC politics in the country, hastening the dominance of the backward castes, especially the intermediary castes. There is now not a single party in India which can oppose OBC reservations. Even in the 2024 parliamentary elections, reservation (or the perceived threat of its removal) was a key issue. Since 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been garnering strong support from OBC and Scheduled Castes within the broader Hindutva framework. To reclaim this support, regional parties have expanded their social and electoral base, and have been tirelessly demanding for a Census where caste is also enumerated. In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav, has created a fruitful alliance with backward classes, Dalits, and minorities, by emphasising on proportional representation for castes. The party secured 37 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi admitted that the party failed to prioritise OBCs and other reserved categories in the past and that they are ready to amend it. As part of the INDIA alliance's Lok Sabha election agenda, he advocated for a Census where caste is enumerated, aiming to consolidate Congress's traditional voter base while also appealing to OBC, Dalit, minorities and Adivasi constituencies. This, he said, will be like a comprehensive 'X-ray' of Indian society. While there is a vast political leadership who came through the lanes of OBC politics and have reached high positions in political parties and legislative spaces, there are fault lines in it. There is a concentration of certain communities in these spaces, especially of intermediary and extremely backward castes. The new Census, with caste enumeration, could create a window of opportunity for the inclusion of those communities who have been left behind. This Census will extend beyond OBCs, encompassing other subaltern communities and minorities. It will also bring out the number of privileged castes. It will reveal demographic compositions, and, if economic data like land ownership is included, the social roots of India's economic inequality. For smaller Scheduled Castes and OBCs lacking prominent leaders, this Census will offer a vital opportunity for visibility and advocacy, as land reforms and economic equality efforts have failed, deepening caste-based oppression and marginalisation. It will also give voice to, and more importantly, numbers of denotified and nomadic communities. An electoral agenda If one looks at the recent victory of the BJP in Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, one understands how the BJP has attracted small communities to its fold. Social scientist Badri Narayan has been highlighting this phenomenon for a long time now. In Bihar, where Assembly elections are due later this year, the BJP would want to use its recent decision to conduct a caste count in the upcoming Census, along with the symbolism of honouring Karpoori Thakur with a Bharat Ratna Award, to effectively mobilise the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC). This is to bolster its own social base and improve its political standing, taking the wind out of its ally Nitish Kumar, who has been basking in the glory of carrying out the caste survey in Bihar earlier and has been the beneficiary of EBC support so far. Through the proposed caste enumeration with the Census, the BJP will try to reshape the caste realities of India and consolidate its appeal among a largely untapped voter base. It will try to cement its presence in States where it was a non-dominant player at best. Other national and regional parties will likely pursue similar strategies, but their success to find a foothold in these realigned caste realities will depend on their leadership and party organisation. Rama Shanker Singh is an independent historian and author of the book Nadi Putra: Uttar Bharat mein Nisahd aur Nadi. Sarthak Bagchi teaches in Ahmedabad University.
