Karnataka Caste Census: A Double Edged Sword For Siddaramaiah Govt

The Bihar government on Monday released findings of the caste survey months ahead of the 2024 Parliamentary elections, which revealed that OBCs and EBCs constitute a whopping 63 percent of the state's total population.

The data is a key agenda of the opposition INDIA bloc which may help the Opposition parties in the forthcoming elections in the Hindi heartland where caste politics plays a major part.

The state's total population stood at a little over 13.07 crore, out of which the Extremely Backward Classes (36 per cent) were the largest social segment followed by the Other Backward Classes at 27.13 per cent, as per the data released by Development Commissioner Vivek Singh.

The Impact Of This Development In Karnataka

After the Bihar government released census data, the demand for the release of similar data is silently growing in Karnataka Congress. As Rahul Gandhi batted for the caste census at the national level, the state leaders from the Congress have started asking Siddaramaiah to release the findings of the survey that was conducted in his previous tenure.

"Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the caste census of Bihar has proved that 84 per cent of people in the state are OBCs, SCs and STs and their share should be according to their population," Congress leader BK Hariprasad said on X.

"It's a good development and his desire is that similar steps should be taken in the state too, and discussions are on in this regard at the government level," PTI quoted PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi saying.

"Our state's caste census report has been ready for several years now, the government and the Chief Minister have to decide on it. There is pressure to make it public, it is good if it is made public, by making it public it will know about the programmes to be formulated for the communities and if extra budget was required for their economic and social development," he said.

The Congress government under the leadership of Siddaramaiah in 2015 had commissioned the Social and Educational Survey, at an estimated cost of Rs 170 crore in the state. However, the findings of which have not been made public yet.

The state Backward Classes Commission under its then chairperson H Kantharaj was tasked to come up with the caste census.

Political analysts say that the continuous reluctance of governments to publish this data stems from the perception that the survey's results contradict the "traditional perception" of the numerical influence of diverse castes in Karnataka.

Political parties in the state have been indulging in a blame game for long, for not accepting the survey and not making it public.

"If the report is not discussed in public, it will not yield any results. There is nothing in it to keep it secret. The census has been done with public money, about Rs 170 crore has been spent on it. The previous BJP government did not implement it, as now our own government is there, it has to be made public and later after discussion in both Houses of Legislature let the government decide on its implementation," PTI quoted Hariprasad as saying.

Why Data Was Not Released?

Kota Srinivas Poojary, who was Minister for Social Welfare and Backward Classes Welfare in the previous BJP government, had said that the then member-secretary of the State Commission for Backward Classes had not signed the final report. This "technical hurdle" hindered the release of the report, he had claimed.

Panel To Submit Report In November

The Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission is likely to submit the caste census report to Siddaramaiah government in November.

"There was a technical problem, the report that was made ready earlier was without the signature of the member-secretary...It's now before us, we are finalising it. We will submit it to the government...maybe next month," the present Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission Chairperson K Jayaprakash Hegde, who was appointed by the BJP, said. "After ordering for the caste census, I had tasked the Backward Classes Commission under Kantharaj to prepare a report. By the time our government's tenure ended the report was not complete and it was not completed. The coalition government (Congress-JD(S)) headed by H D Kumaraswamy came to power subsequently, he did not accept the report, later Kantharaj's tenure too ended," he added.

Based on the leaked census data, Dalits and Muslims surpass the populations of Lingayats and Vokkaligas in the state. The Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute the largest single caste entity, comprising 19.5 per cent of the total population. Muslims are the subsequent significant group, constituting approximately 16 per cent of the population. Following them are the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, making up 14 per cent and 11 per cent of the population, respectively.

Lingayats and Vokkaligas have held sway over the state's political power. The two castes together had over 50 per cent of the MP and MLAs irrespective of whether the BJP was in power or the Congress. However, the leaders from these two communities now fear that the release of the census would diminish the dominance of these two castes.

The data shows that the collective representation of SCs, STs, Muslims, and Kurubas constitutes a formidable 62 per cent of the total population. This combination will make way for Siddaramaiah's AHINDA (an acronym for minorities-backward castes and Dalits in Kannada) to become a formidable force.

However, not everyone believes that the release of data will benefit the Congress. "The surface-level assumption will be that because of Siddaramaiah's AHINDA (Kannada acronym Minorities, Backward Classes, and Dalits) vote bank, the increased OBC votes will help Karnataka, and it will be in Congress' favor. But the ground reality is different. The OBC vote bank is not united, whereas the dominant classes are much more united than the vote bank," Hindustan Times quoted a Congress MLA and former Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office-bearer, as saying on the condition of anonymity.

Political pundits believe that both the BJP and Congress will use the findings to their advantages and it is a double-edged sword.

"Mere figures of a survey are not an emotional issue to unite either the OBCs or the dominant castes. What narratives are created using these figures by the political parties will make the difference. The OBCs in Karnataka don't have a shared political commitment or even a sense of shared agony. The various OBC communities have voted for both Congress and BJP," A Narayana, a political observer and professor of public policy and governance at Azim Premji University, told the daily.

Political pundits claim that there are also chances of consolidation of the Vokkaliga and Lingayat voters, especially since the BJP and JDS have formed an alliance ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls.