Caste census: Karnataka BJP objects to Christian, Muslim tags to all Hindu sub-castes; raises ‘conversion’ bogey
Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP delegation has met the Chairman of the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission Madhusudhan R Naik and objected to creation of Christian and Muslim tags to all Hindu sub-castes.
“It appears to be an attempt to encourage religious conversions,” the party stated.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, BJP State General Secretary and MLA V. Sunil Kumar has stated that a list of 1,400 castes had been published in newspapers, and objections were invited.
“New castes that are not part of any government or commission list have been created. For instance, Kuruba Christian, Madivala Christian, and Vokkaliga Christian — 107 such new categories have been published. Codes have also been assigned to them. This is unacceptable,” Sunil Kumar said.
“There are possibilities of this turning into a people’s movement across the state. Earlier, we had heard of only 2–3 sub-castes among Christians and a few among Muslims. But the government has added Christian or Muslim tags to all Hindu sub-castes, which appears to be an attempt to encourage conversions. People suspect this is a ploy to manipulate reservation policies,” Sunil Kumar alleged.
He said the BJP had demanded that these newly-created castes be dropped from the list.
“A written acknowledgement of the survey must be given. According to Kannada grammar classifications, 1,400 castes have been listed. We have asked that it be done according to social categories. Though the commission heard us out calmly, it seems they are determined to complete the survey within 15 days. It must not be done hastily in a manner that risks rejection of the report. This survey will form the basis for future policies of state governments, and therefore it should not be rushed,” Sunil Kumar said.
“We have further urged not to conduct the caste survey in haste. It is not right to claim that the survey will be completed within 15 days or during the Dusshera festival. Conducting a survey under pressure is not correct. Surveying about 1.75 to 2 crore households is not an easy task. We have urged that the survey be carried out during the summer,” he reiterated.
Sunil Kumar pointed out that the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission is preparing to conduct a socio-educational and economic survey. Earlier, under the leadership of Kantharaju, the commission had prepared a report at a cost of Rs 165 crore, which was never submitted to the government, rendering the expenditure futile.
Later, another survey on internal reservation was carried out under Justice Nagamohan Das at a cost of Rs 110 crore. “Without considering any aspects of that report, the government announced its stance, which has become a matter of debate in Karnataka,” he added.
He stated that the BJP has understood the confusion and doubts in the minds of the people and expressed the view that the next survey must be conducted properly.
The memorandum was signed by MP P.C. Mohan, BJP State Vice President and former minister Hartalu Halappa, Assembly Opposition Chief Whip Doddanagouda H. Patil, Council Opposition Chief Whip N. Ravikumar, MLC S. Keshavaprasad, BJP State Secretaries Sharanu Tallikeri and Ambika Hulinaykar, OBC Morcha State President Raghu Kautilya, former MLA N.L. Narendra Babu, former MLC M.D. Lakshminarayana, and other prominent leaders. These leaders were also part of the BJP delegation.
