Political bid to brand OBCs as ‘Others’ strikes at the roots of social justice
Caste census is non-negotiable; the movement will continue until it is secured, says Dundra Kumara Swamy
Reiterating that the struggle for social justice, equal opportunity and proportionate share would be pursued without compromise, Dundra Kumara Swamy, National President of the National BC Dal and Chairman of the BC Reservations Struggle Coordination JAC, said the movement would not be called off until a comprehensive caste census is conducted.
Addressing an all-party meeting convened under the aegis of the BC Reservations Struggle Coordination JAC, Mr. Swamy alleged that the Union Government had set in motion a political design to categorise Backward Classes under the vague label of “Others”, a move he said amounted to a direct assault on the principles of social justice. The attempt, he noted, had drawn sharp criticism from BC organisations, caste associations and several public intellectuals.
Mr. Swamy asserted that the BC community would not tolerate what he described as a systematic effort to marginalise it politically, economically, socially and educationally. He made it clear that the demand for inclusion of a separate OBC column in the forthcoming Census would remain at the centre of the movement.
Recalling the historical context, he pointed out that the last caste census in India was conducted in 1931 during British rule, when detailed data on caste-wise population was collected. However, those figures, he said, had lost relevance for present-day India as they also included populations from regions that now form Pakistan and Bangladesh. After Independence, no government had undertaken a comprehensive caste enumeration, and caste-wise data collection was effectively discontinued after 1941, he observed.
In many States, he said, there was no official data at all on BC communities. “There is meticulous data on livestock, but none on the country’s largest social group,” he remarked, describing the situation as deeply unfortunate.
Expressing serious concern over the house-listing notification issued for Census 2027, Mr. Swamy said the absence of an OBC column was troubling. While the government was seeking granular details about housing material, number of rooms and access to television, mobile phones and the internet, it was conspicuously avoiding clear questions on caste, particularly with regard to OBCs, he alleged. This, he said, was not merely an administrative omission but a deliberate attempt to reduce OBCs to the category of “Others”, thereby weakening the very foundation of social justice.
The lack of a caste census, he argued, had resulted in the unscientific implementation of reservations for BCs in education, employment, politics and other social sectors. He said the constitutional vision of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the social reform ideals of Jyotirao Phule continued to guide the BC movement in Telangana, providing both moral direction and the strength to fight for equality.
State OBC leaders including Guda Ilaiah Goud, Ravishankar and Naresh were among those present at the meeting.