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GoM to be set up on caste census
Smita Gupta
New Delhi: The United Progressive Alliance government decided on
Wednesday to set up a Group of Ministers (GOM) on the issue of caste
enumeration in Census 2011, official sources said, amidst shrinking
opposition to the idea within the Union Cabinet.
These sources added that the GOM would be given a "tight schedule," in
case the caste headcount needed to be integrated within the current
census operations, but remained coy about whether the government had
taken a final decision on undertaking a caste-based census at all. The
GOM was proposed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee (who is likely
to head it), who said that the complexity of the issue demanded a more
detailed discussion.
Modalities
The GOM would not only work out the modalities of doing a caste
headcount along with Census 2011 but also consider whether it would be
practical to do so. The sources pointed out that the Cabinet, which
spent half an hour on the issue, took cognisance of the mood across
the political spectrum in favour of a caste-based census and the
possible political fallout in case the government did not heed this.
Compared with the last Cabinet meeting on May 4 at which this issue
was flagged, the opposition to a caste headcount was muted, with only
three Ministers — M.S. Gill, Kapil Sibal and Anand Sharma — voicing
their disquiet. Minister for Youth and Sports M.S. Gill led the charge
on Wednesday, saying caste enumeration would be disadvantageous to
numerically small groups; Minister for Commerce Anand Sharma expressed
his reservations but was not as vociferous as he had been on May 4.
Of those supporting the caste head-count, the most vocal was Minister
for Law Veerappa Moily. Pointing out that caste was a social reality
in India, he stressed that an authoritative set of numbers would help
the government better target its numerous welfare schemes.
Backing him were Minister for Social Justice Mukul Wasnik, who seems
to have changed his mind since the last Cabinet, and Minister for
Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy, one of the most consistent
supporters of a caste-based head count: Mr. Reddy reportedly said he
did not understand why it was being discussed at all — he thought it
was a settled issue.
The sources said Home Minister P. Chidambaram again pointed out the
difficulties in integrating a caste headcount in Census 2011.
He added, however, that the best time to go for a caste-based
headcount would be after the census figures were tabulated, during the
biometric capture phase when photographing, fingerprinting and iris
mapping of citizens for the National Population Register (NPR) is to
be done. However, others in the Cabinet felt it could be done at the
second stage of enumeration.
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