Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday announced that the state Cabinet has decided to conduct a fresh caste census to assess the social and educational status of Backward Classes. He said the move is in line with Section 11(2) of the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission Act, 1995, as the previous survey was conducted a decade ago.
Addressing the media at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister explained that the government will request the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission to complete the survey within 90 days.
“Telangana did it in 70 days. We aim to finish in 90,” he added.
Central Government yet to act on caste census
Responding to a question on the Centre’s role, Siddaramaiah stated, “The Central government has never said it will conduct a socio-educational survey. When we asked, they didn’t respond. So we are going ahead with our own.”
He further affirmed the government’s commitment to delivering social justice based on the survey’s findings.
The last major discussion on the caste census took place in the Cabinet on Thursday, which focused entirely on the report submitted earlier by the Permanent Backward Classes Commission. That survey, conducted in 2015 during Siddaramaiah’s earlier term as Chief Minister, covered 5.98 crore people in Karnataka using 54 parameters.
Political roadblocks delayed past report implementation
Siddaramaiah explained that although the 2015 survey was completed, it wasn’t implemented due to political opposition. He said then CM HD Kumaraswamy prevented his minister from accepting the report.
Chairman Jayaprakash Hegde submitted a revised version in February 2024, but the 2024 Lok Sabha elections delayed its discussion.
Now, with only Chairman Madhusudhan R Naik appointed, the Commission will likely begin a fresh survey. As per Section 11 of the Act, survey data is valid for 10 years due to changes in population and development indicators.
“Population increases, and social and economic dynamics change over a decade. Therefore, we are undertaking this survey legally,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.
He also addressed concerns from the Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities, stating that the government is acting within the legal framework to ensure fairness.
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