CM Hemant Soren bats for caste census in Jharkhand

Ranchi: Attempts are being made for the caste census from 2021 itself. The Bill related to reservation has been sent to the Governor after being passed by the Legislative Assembly. The government clearly believes that the number of people in the group, the more rights they get. Chief Minister Hemant Soren said these things. The Chief Minister was answering the questions of the interlocutors at the Project Bhavan on Thursday. Chief Minister Hemant Soren has written a letter to the Prime Minister asking for a caste-based census two years ago with the consent of all parties. Members of Jharkhand’s all-party delegation in Delhi submitted a demand letter to the Home Minister for a caste-based census in September 2021.

Appropriate policies needed
The Chief Minister had said through the letter that special facilities and reservations have been arranged in the constitution for the development of socially and educationally backward classes. People are facing difficulties in providing special facilities. In the proposed census in the year 2021, the government has given written notice in the parliament not to conduct the caste census of the backward and very backward classes, who have been oppressed, ridiculed, neglected, and deprived for ages, which is unfortunate. Backward – The most backward classes have not been able to make the expected progress for ages. In such a situation, if the caste census is not conducted, then the educational, social, political, and economic status of the backward / extremely backward castes will not be properly assessed, nor will appropriate policies regarding their betterment and upliftment be determined, nor will their number be determined. The budget will be allocated proportionately. It is known that 90 years ago the caste census was conducted in the year 1931 and on the basis of that it was recommended to provide reservation to the backward classes by the Mandal Commission.

Economic inequality
It was written in the letter that the people of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes in India have suffered economic and social backwardness for centuries. After independence, different sections have developed at different speeds. Due to this, the gap between the rich and the poor has increased. Economic inequality in India has a strong correlation with caste and generally, those who fall into socially backward categories are also economically backward. It is the need of the hour to take grassroots initiatives to implement the slogans of everyone’s faith, and everyone’s development. Ground reality information is the first prerequisite for developing a development plan. The caste census will prove to be the most effective means for this. A caste-based census can ensure that all sections of the society have a proportionate share of the population. This demand has been considered as the need of the hour, so breaking the walls of the party, everyone is demanding from the center that the political, economic, social, and educational level information of all castes should be included in the census and made public. Backward and backward are not getting share and participation in proportion to their population. The reason is that their accurate caste data is not available. In such a situation, there is an urgent need for caste statistics to address these disparities.

Benefits communicated through letter
Through the letter, the Chief Minister explained the many benefits of the caste-based census in the policy-making of the country. It was written in the letter that these figures would prove helpful in providing reservation facilities to the backward-class people. The data will help the policymakers in better policy formulation and implementation for the upliftment of the backward classes. These data will also highlight the economic, social, and educational disparities and then they can be solved in a democratic way. Article 340 of the Constitution also provides for the creation of a commission to get information about the economic and socially backward classes. A caste census will also ensure compliance with this provision of the constitution. It will also prove helpful in reducing errors in the inclusion and exclusion of eligible beneficiaries in target-based schemes.