Saturday, May 15, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Shy of asking caste, census enumerators just guess it!

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Hyderabad/Shy-of-asking-caste-census-enumerators-just-guess-it/articleshow/5933209.cms

Shy of asking caste, census enumerators just guess it!
TNN, May 15, 2010, 03.36am IST

HYDERABAD: Census officials in the state are giving the caste column a
miss with enumerators in the city shying away from asking the "what is
your caste" question.

While there is an exclusive column marked as 'SC/ST/Others' in the
census sheets, which has created much controversy across the country,
the officials visiting households have taken to peering at name plates
before entering the house, or simply guessing just what the caste of
the resident would be and marking the column themselves.

Denizens who have been visited by census officials say that
enumerators either filled the caste column on their own without asking
for it explicitly or just ignored the detail altogether.
Interestingly, some enumerators when probed by curious residents
confessed that asking about a family's caste was 'awkward' and they
were, therefore, not listing that information. "The enumerator, a
government teacher, who came to my house said that he guessed my caste
from my surname and asking it directly was neither necessary nor
appropriate," said a resident of Begumpet.

In some cases, the enumerators even asked neighbours for this detail
to avoid being in an "uncomfortable position". "When I asked the
enumerator about the caste column, he blatantly told me that he had
found it out from my neighbour as he was not sure if we would be
comfortable answering that question," said another resident.

Whatever the reason, residents are worried with this 'caste-conscious'
attitude of enumerators, pointing out it could lead to serious errors
in this crucial exercise.

Said a resident of Hyderguda, "At first the census official gave the
question a miss. Later, conversationally he asked whether I was SC or
ST. It was evident that he did that with much effort." Besides, with
many officials filling census sheets in Telugu, many non-Telugu
speaking families resented that they could not even read what details
were being filled about them.

Meanwhile, senior census officials said no such instructions had been
given to enumerators and that confirming whether a family falls under
the SC/ST or Others bracket was necessary. "We have directed our
officers to list the caste of the head of the family alone. When the
nation-wide census happens in February next year, then we shall be
asking each and every person in the family their caste," said a senior
officer of the census department.

He maintained that all enumerators were trained to ask all the 35
questions on the census schedule and caste was one of them. "In case
people are not being asked they can register a complaint with us and
we shall look into it," the officer said. That would mean a hell of a
lot of complaints.

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