Relevant for Sociology Syllabus Paper 2
The story up to now: The Tamil Nadu authorities has determined to nominate a commission to formulate a methodology to collect caste-wise particulars of its inhabitants and use that to provide you with a report. It is not clear if this will contain a full headcount of all members of each caste, or whether or not it is higher described as a ‘survey’ than a ‘census’. The Centre carried out a ‘Socio-Economic Caste Census’ (SECC) in 2011 all through the nation, nevertheless it didn’t make public the caste part of the findings. In Karnataka, the outcome of a similar exercise has not been disclosed to the public.
Is assortment of caste particulars a part of the census?
Caste was amongst the particulars collected by enumerators throughout the decennial Census of India till 1931. It was given up in 1941, a yr during which the census operation was partially affected by World War II. In his report on the 1941 train, then Census Commissioner of India, M.W.M. Yeatts, indicated that tabulation of caste particulars individually concerned further prices. “The sanctioned tabulation for British India does not cover caste, but even had the full course been taken, there would have been no all-India caste table. Even in 1931, it was severely limited due to financial reasons; the time is past for this enormous and costly table…,” he wrote. However, at the time of sorting the particulars, some provinces or States that needed a caste file for administrative causes got some knowledge on cost.
Has there been criticism of together with caste in the census?
The principal argument in opposition to taking caste particulars of people is that it tends to perpetuate the caste system. J.H. Hutton, the Census Commissioner in 1931, notes that on the event of every successive census since 1901, some criticism had been raised about taking any word of the reality of caste. “It has been alleged that the mere act of labelling persons as belonging to a caste tends to perpetuate the system,” he writes. However, he rejects the criticism, arguing that there is nothing incorrect in recording a reality, and ignoring its existence would be ostrich-like.
What was the view after Independence?
R.A. Gopalaswami, the first Indian Registrar-General of unbiased India, stated in the 1951 report: “The 1951 census was not [emphasis in the original] to concern itself with questions regarding castes, races and tribes, except insofar as the necessary statistical material related to ‘special groups’ and certain other material relating to backward classes collected and made over to the Backward Classes Commission.” ‘Special Groups’ has been defined as referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Anglo-Indians and sure castes handled provisionally as ‘backward’ for the functions of the census. This implies that BC knowledge had been collected, however not compiled or revealed.
How have caste particulars been collected up to now?
While SC/ST particulars are collected as a part of the census, particulars of different castes are usually not collected by the enumerators. The important technique is by self-declaration to the enumerator. So far, backward courses commissions in numerous States have been conducting their very own counts to determine the inhabitants of backward castes. The methodology could differ from State to State. Details out there about some commissions in the public area recommend that these panels use strategies like distribution of questionnaires, assembly with representatives of stakeholders, touring related areas and localities, and in some instances, comparable to the J.A. Ambasankar Commission in Tamil Nadu and the Venkataswamy Commission in Karnataka, door-to-door enumeration.
What about SECC 2011?
The Socio-Economic Caste Census of 2011 was a main train to acquire knowledge about the socio-economic standing of varied communities. Even although there may be an overlap in the dataset of SECC 2011 with that of the census taken that yr, the findings may be markedly completely different. The basic census is carried out in a small window of a month, whereas the caste census is carried out over a longer time frame, and there is a whole lot of revision and correction. The SECC 2011 had two parts: a survey of the rural and city households and rating of those households primarily based on pre-set parameters, and a caste census. However, solely the particulars of the financial circumstances of the individuals in rural and city households had been launched. The caste knowledge haven’t been launched until now. While a exact cause is but to be disclosed, it is surmised that the knowledge had been considered too politically delicate. Fear of antagonising dominant and highly effective castes that will discover that their projected power in the inhabitants is not as excessive as claimed could be an necessary cause.
What is the authorized crucial for a caste depend?
Over the final 20 years, the Supreme Court has been elevating questions on the foundation for reservation ranges being excessive in numerous States. In explicit, it has laid down that there ought to be quantifiable knowledge to justify the presence of a caste in the backward class listing, in addition to proof of its under-representation in companies. It has additionally referred to as for periodical assessment of community-wise lists in order that the advantages don’t perpetually go in favour of a few castes.
Many neighborhood leaders argue that understanding the exact variety of the inhabitants of every caste would assist tailor the reservation coverage to make sure equitable illustration of all of them. In the case of Tamil Nadu, the State authorities has stated acquiring quantifiable knowledge is needed for the safety of its 69% reservation coverage. While acquiring related and correct knowledge could be the main achieve from a caste census, the risk that it will result in heartburn amongst some sections and spawn calls for for bigger or separate quotas from teams discovered to be vital in quantity is a potential pitfall. Tabulating and categorising similar-sounding caste names and deciding on whether or not to deal with some sections as separate castes or sub-castes of a neighborhood will additionally be a difficult job.