Despite strong objections from Opposition parties and rumblings within its own ranks, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government will go ahead with the Socio-economic and Educational Survey, commonly called the caste survey, covering two crore households across Karnataka starting Monday.
The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC) will collect granular data on the social, economic, and educational conditions of various caste groups and recommend welfare measures. The survey, which will continue till October 9 across the state, is likely to be delayed by a week in Bengaluru, where government officials will assist teachers in collecting the data.
“Over 1.75 lakh enumerators will collect data as part of the survey, for which over two crore houses have been geo-tagged. Based on this data, 1.61 lakh blocks have been assigned to the enumerators, each of whom will collect information from 140–150 households,” KSCBC chairman Madhusudhan R Naik said Sunday.
To capture caste and community details, the government has developed an app with a drop-down menu of caste names derived from the Kantharaj Commission survey of 2015. The app will be used along with a set of 60 questions to determine the socio-economic conditions of individual families.
The exercise, estimated to cost Rs 420 crore, has attracted criticism from the BJP, which claims that “new castes” were inserted in the list prepared for the survey. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi Sunday alleged that the Congress was attempting to distort the reservation system. “It is clearly stated in our Constitution that those who have converted are not eligible for reservation. However, they are allegedly being listed as Kuruba Christians, Brahmin Christians, and Lingayat Christians to manipulate the reservation system,” he said.
Leader of Opposition R Ashok accused the Congress of attempting to divide Hindus. “People from all castes have opposed conversion. Names like Kuruba, Brahmin, Vishwakarma, etc., have been prefixed with ‘Christian’. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is a Christian, and this is being done to please her,” he alleged at a news conference.
The “new castes” such as Christian Vokkaligas, Christian Lingayats, Brahmin Christians, Kuruba Christians, and 29 others were included in the final report submitted by the Kantharaj Commission .
Responding to these allegations, Naik said the caste list circulated before the survey was not final. “There are allegations that we created these castes. We did not. The names were part of the previous survey exercise. For internal use, we published 1,413 caste names asking for suggestions on whether more should be added,” he clarified.
According to Naik, of Karnataka’s 10 lakh Christians, nearly four lakh belong to groups that identify themselves with Hindu caste names followed by the “Christian” suffix. All of them have been classified as Christians in the survey. “Since ministers raised concerns, the Commission has decided to mask 33 caste names which had stirred a row,” he said.
The BJP has accused the Congress of attempting to fragment dominant communities such as the Vokkaligas and Lingayats, both of which have historically opposed caste enumeration. The Kantharaj Commission report was submitted to the government in February but was scrapped citing that the data in it was over a decade old.
On Saturday, prominent Vokkaliga leaders demanded that the exercise be postponed, calling it “rushed”. Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, himself a Vokkaliga, said he was not opposed to the survey but objected to its timing. “The festive season is not the right time. Postpone it or extend its duration by three months,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, also a Vokkaliga leader, attended the meeting but refrained from commenting on the demands raised.
The inclusion of a “religion column” in this round of the survey has further complicated matters. The Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha urged Lingayats to mark themselves as “others,” while BJP leaders have asked them to identify as “Hindus.”
Naik, however, said such differences would not affect the outcome. “When the Commission assesses the socio-economic conditions of Veerashaiva Lingayats, irrespective of whether they identify as Hindu or others, they will be treated as one community,” he said.
Acknowledging that participation in Bengaluru has been lower than in rural areas, the Commission has introduced a self-declaration option in the app. Residents have also been given the option to book time slots for enumerators to visit their homes at their convenience.
The previous round of the exercise had also exposed fault lines within the Congress. Both Lingayat and Vokkaliga leaders in the party have expressed reservations. In April, Congress MLA Basavaraju Shivaganaga, a Lingayat, criticised the seven state ministers from the community for failing to convene a meeting on the issue, as Vokkaliga leaders had done, and demanded their resignation.
Senior Congress legislator Shamanuru Shivashankarappa, president of the Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha, also declared that Lingayats opposed the census. “Let’s see, if they implement it despite the opposition,” he remarked in April.
His statement drew a sharp rebuttal from senior Congress leader and CWC member B K Hariprasad, an OBC representative. “Nobody can threaten the government or the Congress. In a democracy, people are free to express their opinions. Ultimately, the state government will take a decision, and I am confident it will go ahead,” Hariprasad said.