Editorial 2: Redrawing caste lines
Context
A properly conducted caste census offers a rare chance to ground policy in reality. But it must be used to serve inclusive governance, not fuel political fragmentation.
The forthcoming census
- The current government’s decision to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming Census must be welcomed, but with enormous caution and with our fingers crossed.
- Given the propensity of our political class to use caste for narrow and short-term electoral gain, a lot of scepticism about the matter is warranted.
- The rationale for a caste census ought to be based on two considerations.
- First, however complex caste is, it cannot be ignored as it impinges on every aspect of life in this country.
- Counting and collating social reality is inherently good for administrative purposes.
- The second consideration is the other side of the coin that we must end both policymaking and arguments relying on “guesstimates” of the socio-economic status of the castes.
A daunting journey
- The 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) makes hard to judge whether it was in bad faith, or if it ran aground as the complexities of caste were too many.
- One problem is the sheer number of castes to be enumerated, and the other, the confusion over some caste names. The forthcoming enumeration has reportedly taken into account these problems.
- The tenacity of caste is another problem that’s been bedevilling India’s social policy.
- Be it formulating rights and privileges, or giving effect to those rights.
- For example, in the form of granting quotas the state is becoming a handmaid to society:
- Instead of being guided by norms and ideals that the Constitution enshrines, the state merely acquiesces to the agenda set by society. Hence, the demand for a caste census.
- The numbers game must give us two nightmares. On the electoral/ political plane, the fine slicing of society into a few thousand pieces will ultimately result in political instability.
- The second nightmare is administrative. It is not merely a matter of facing more demands for quotas or sub-quotas.
- Even after adding copious portions of good faith to the exercise, the end result will be contentious.
Challenge can be an opportunity
- Be that as it may, the challenge can also be an opportunity if the government is willing to bring about a paradigm shift.
- Since 1935, when the Dalits and tribals were christened respectively as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs), all law-making and policy formulation on quotas have miraculously been in sync with the caste divisions prescribed by Manusmriti.
- In the context of the four-fold caste system, the “top” three (the so-called twice-born) castes are now classified as Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs), the fourth cluster (Shudras) is identified as Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and the Most Backward Classes (MBCs). Those outside the caste fold are the SC/STs.
Suggestions
- Of course, the clustering of castes for granting quotas is an administrative exercise, not a matter related to the Constitution or the census enumeration.
- However, since this counting is taking place in the context of quotas, while counting castes for what they are, the collection of household data needs to be expanded so that the categorisation of households based on their backwardness becomes possible.
- This will enable an OBC category to encompass not only the Shudra households but also upper caste households.
Conclusion
A re-categorisation of households of the 4,000 or so castes into three or four groups based on socio-economic criteria could bring about some sanity to our politics and governance.