A renewed focus on social justice must be the glue that unites the opposition against the BJP in general elections
Post Date – 12:30 AM, Wednesday – 4/19/23
A renewed focus on social justice must be the glue that unites the opposition against the BJP in general elections
Hyderabad: There are growing calls for a caste-based census in the country to fine-tune ideas of social justice. This is happening at a time when job and economic opportunities for disadvantaged groups are shrinking and social disparities are widening. The latest to join the chorus is Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who campaigned in Karnataka for a national census based on caste and abolishing the 50% reservation for SC, ST and other backward classes upper limit. The BRS, which has floated the idea, has been at the forefront of supporting the cause, even getting a parliamentary resolution urging the center to include a caste-based census in its census work. A renewed focus on and commitment to social justice must be the glue that holds the opposition together in order to take on the BJP-led NDA in the next general election. Recently, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin organized the All India Federation for Social Justice National Conference with the participation of several non-BJP parties. There is a need to deploy the Mandal as a political tool to weaken the campaign of religious polarization promoted by the BJP ahead of the polls. By trying to lure certain parts of the OBC and reach out to Pasmanda, a backward community among Muslims, the Saffron Party is trying to woo Mandal and combine it with Mandir politics to gain electoral miles.
There are good reasons for conducting a national caste census to identify socially, economically and educationally disadvantaged communities and increase retention in proportion to their population. No welfare program can be effective without reliable data. It is surprising that a country with such a large affirmative action program based on caste does not collect data on the educational and economic profiles of castes. Ironically, despite the dominant role of caste in India’s social, economic and political life, there is still no reliable and comprehensive caste data. Reliable caste censuses are critical to ensuring social justice. The NDA government must get rid of its ambivalence about this matter and work on it at the national level. Population by caste will help in fine-tuning the retention policy. It will highlight a host of issues that require attention in any democracy, particularly the number of people who are marginalized or disenfranchised. The resulting detailed data will enable policymakers to formulate better policies and implementation strategies. While the Constitution does not explicitly allow states to conduct censuses, it must be noted that the Supreme Court has identified quantifiable backwardness data as a key criterion for clearing caste quotas for jobs, education, and elected bodies at the state level.
