One of the most prominent OBC faces of the Congress, Bhupesh Baghel says his government undertook a caste-based headcount before Bihar, and its findings were codified in the form of a legislation to enhance reservation for the OBCs. In an exclusive interview, Baghel says the legislation continues to be pending with the governor, and his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the issue has yielded no response. Baghel says social justice is an effective counter to BJP’s “communal politics”, and that is the reason why “communal groups” are opposing it. Excerpts:
What makes caste census so important?
The Mandal Commission’s report recommended that the members of the Other Backward Classes be granted up to 27 per cent reservation. The total was, at that time, 49.5 per cent for SC, ST and OBC. In the past three decades, there has been an increase in social awareness of the people and there has been a demand for equitable reservations. With the Central government’s decision to bring in reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), it was clear that the 50 per cent mark can be breached. The honourable courts, too, have said the same. As a result, the state governments have taken up their own caste census to provide social justice to all sections of society.
Chhattisgarh established the Quantifiable Data Commission (QDC) which had conducted a headcount for the OBC and EWS. Based on the findings of the QDC, we brought a bill in the assembly to increase the OBC reservation to 27 per cent from 14 per cent, for SCs from 12 per cent to 13 per cent and introduced a 4 per cent reservation for the EWS. The ST reservation remained at 32 per cent. It was passed unanimously. Unfortunately, it has been stuck in the Raj Bhavan pending clearance for the past several months.
What are the key findings from the Chhattisgarh survey?
The QDC’s headcount identified around 45 per cent OBC population and 4 per cent EWS population. According to the 2011 census, the ST population is around 32 per cent and the SC population is around 13 per cent. I have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about caste census at the national level and also about the bill on enhancing quota in the state which is pending with the governor.
Have you received a response?
There has been no response yet.
The BJP says caste census at the Central level has practical difficulties, like castes being non-homogenous across different states.
These are technical issues which is for the Central government to iron out. This cannot be an excuse to prevent caste census and withhold subsequent legislative bills approved in state assemblies.
The BJP also says that it is preferable that states carry out caste based surveys at their level instead of a national survey.
The BJP is against OBCs because if OBC awareness grows, the BJP’s communal agenda gets weaker.
Is caste census the opposition’s counter to the BJP’s hindutva-based politics?
When the opposition is talking about OBC, it is talking from a standpoint of the betterment of society. The OBC population is the only group that is not aware of its actual numbers. As a result, they do not receive the fair share of benefits. This brings in the concept of social justice. Only when society knows the actual numbers of a particular social class and their stake in society, can we decide how to allocate resources equitably. By sheer dominance of certain classes and because of social injustice, members of the social class who are a minority are receiving the majority of the benefits, resources and power. And as for hindutva politics, this model of social justice is an answer to communal politics. That is why communal groups are opposing the idea of social justice.
Political observers say the Congress has changed its position on OBC reservation.
This is factually incorrect and the Congress has never opposed the OBCs.
Critics say the UPA government did not make public the findings of its socioeconomic caste survey.
By the time the data was collected and processed, the UPA government was replaced by the BJP-led NDA government and it was for the NDA to make public the findings of the survey. They are not doing so for obvious reasons.