Caste census: K’taka govt removes Christian tag; BJP calls it ‘victory’ of Hindu community leaders
Bengaluru: Coming under attack over adding Christian tag for castes within the Hindu community, the Congress-led government in Karnataka said on Tuesday that it has removed the Christian tags in the socio-economic and academic survey, known as the caste census.
The Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission tasked with conducting the survey has issued a statement in this regard.
The statement said: “Legislative Council Opposition leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former Union Minister A. Narayanaswamy and State BJP General Secretary and MLA V. Sunil Kumar had submitted a memorandum to the Commission’s Chairman Madhusudhan Naik and urged to remove certain castes from the survey.”
The objections were raised regarding mentioning of Adi Andhra Christian, Adidravida Christian, Buduga Jangama Christian, Lamani Christian, Madiga Christian, Mala Christian, Vadda Christian, Adi Karnataka Christian, Banjara Christian, Holeya Christian, Lambani Christian, Mahar Christian, Paraya Christian and Valmiki Christian in the survey, the statement added.
The Commission held a detailed meeting in this regard on Monday and discussed the matter.
After the receipt of objections to the publication of castes, including the above castes, many others were dropped in the final list.
“It is confirmed that in the 1,561 castes list, between page numbers 57 and 89 and also in the survey app developed by Economically Disadvantaged Caste Survey (EDCS), the Commission is confirming that the above said castes are not included,” the Commission said.
Commenting on the development, the BJP said the Backward Classes Commission has officially announced that it has “hidden” the Christian Scheduled Caste from its survey list.
The BJP added that this is a victory for the struggle led by prominent members of the Hindu society and it.
The announcement comes as a success for the efforts of community leaders, religious heads, and political leaders, who raised their voices against attempts to indirectly encourage religious conversions.
The BJP expressed its gratitude to the Commission for taking this timely decision, even if delayed.
The inclusion of 48 new Christian castes in Karnataka’s Social and Educational Survey had sparked widespread protests across the state.
BJP leaders had strongly opposed this move.
On September 21, the Backward Classes Commission clarified that it had removed 33 Christian Hindu castes from the survey list.
The remaining 15 Christian castes were still listed under the Scheduled Castes.
BJP leaders had held press conferences in more than 10 locations across the state on Monday to highlight the issue and raise objections, the official party statement said.
Today, a BJP delegation led by Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, A. Narayanaswamy, V. Sunil Kumar, N. Mahesh, N. Ravikumar, S. Muniswamy, former MLAs Y. Sampangi and M.D. Lakshminarayan, Sharanu Tallikeri, Saptagiri Gowda, and retired IAS officer Anil Kumar met the Commission Chairman Madhusudhan Naik.
BJP leaders held discussions for more than an hour, urging the Commission to remove the Scheduled Christian castes from the survey list, the statement said.
V. Sunil Kumar, State BJP General Secretary and former Minister, said, “In the list of castes prepared by the State Backward Classes Commission for the Socio-Economic and Academic Survey, Christians who had converted from Hindu sub-castes were included. The creation of a total of 46 such new castes not only encouraged conversions from other communities but also posed a risk of undermining the reservation system in the future.”
“In this context, the Commission bowed to the pressure of the protest we (BJP) carried out. Two days ago, the Commission had removed 33 castes from this list, and now it has removed 14 more castes from the Scheduled Castes category. Overall, our struggle has been successful, and we hope the Commission conducts the survey smoothly without any further issues, keeping in mind the spirit of the Constitution,” he added.