Discrimination alleged in municipal census for Jugsalai elections

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur: Concerns have been raised over alleged discrimination in the ongoing census process for the Municipal Jugsalai elections. A letter submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of East Singhbhum highlights that census workers are not properly conducting the survey, potentially leaving a community deprived of reservation benefits.

In the letter, it was stated that census workers have been skipping houses, failing to visit many homes. A community member, who visited Ramjanki Kanya Vidyalaya recently, reported that officials claimed they would fill out the census data themselves. “When I asked them to mark our caste, the teacher replied, ‘We will not write your caste,’” the letter reads.

The complainant further mentioned that their community, Rajasthan origin, has faced historical marginalization and is listed as Dakot caste in some states like Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. They claim that the census workers did not mark their caste correctly, instead noting it as Archan caste, which they say is incorrect.

This community, identified as economically backward, fears that improper documentation in the census could lead to a loss of reservation benefits, affecting their access to opportunities.

The letter urges the Deputy Commissioner to look into the matter and ensure that all communities are correctly represented in the census. The Deputy Commissioner has yet to comment on the issue.