Census conundrum
Seema Chishti Posted online: Fri Jun 04 2010, 01:53 hrs
Supporting the inclusion of caste in the census, noted poet and editor
of the daily Sahafat(published from Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow and
Dehradun) Hasan Kamal, in his May 24 column writes: "None of these
opponents of recording caste has said that the caste system itself is
a social disease and it should be eliminated. The important thing is
that by recording caste in the census it would be known as to how many
funds are required for the development of backward communities."
Equally supportive of inclusion of castes in the census is Delhi-based
daily Jadeed Khabar. In an editorial on May 28, it writes: "The last
time caste was recorded in the country's census was in 1931. It is not
clear how much the British gained from the results of this census on
the basis of caste, but it is obvious that when the Constitution of an
independent India was prepared, provision was made for reservation for
Dalits and oppressed castes and tribes against which there were no
voices from any section of the society. Obviously if the census had
not been conducted on the basis of caste, the founding fathers of the
Constitution would have found it very difficult to determine the
population of Dalits and oppressed castes and tribes and the
percentage of reservation to be provided to them."
Taking a contrary view, the daily Akhbar-e-Mashriq, published from
Delhi, Kolkata and Ranchi, says in an editorial on May 31 that the
"caste system ( zaat-paat ) is the worst curse, and those pleading for
it want to take the country back." Jamaat-e-Islami's organ, bi-weekly
Daawat, in its front page lead article on May 7, has critically
analysed the form being used for the current census. It reveals that
in column 15 of the first set of 35 questions, entitled 'Census of
India 2011: Houselisting and Housing Census Schedule' there is a query
about the caste of the head of the family, with a note, "If SC, ST or
Other; SC-1, ST-2, Other-3" (instructing how these details are to be
numerically recorded). But there is no column for "religion",
according to the paper.
Dawaat, as well as many other papers have criticised the absence of a
query on "religion" and "language" from the census questionnaire form.
Delhi-based daily, Hindustan
Express (May 22) reports from Deoband, the statement of the
General-Secretary of All-India Mosques Coordination Committee, Maulana
Abdullah Ibn-ul Qamar, exhorting the imams of the country's mosques to
motivate people "to take full part in the census operation." But
dwelling on the absence of "religion" as a column, he writes; "later
on, there will be another round that will have a column for
'religion'. The government should clarify if it is true or not."
The Maoist challenge
Expressing great concern over the rise in Maoist violence and
disruption, Rashtriya Sahara in an editorial entitled, "Politics on
train accident," (May 31), writes: "The spate of political statements
about the Jnaneshwari Express tragedy is the result of the lowering
level of our politics and the mental bankruptcy of our politicians.
These political battlelines prove that we are perhaps becoming
insensitive and personal political gains are dearer to us even in the
large-scale loss of human lives."
Akhbar-e-Mashriq, in a May 30 editorial queries: "The Maoists have
started targeting the common people. Will the government even now not
deploy the army against them?... After all, are we not taking the
services of the armed forces against and insurgency and separatism in
Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East because of which situations there
are getting considerably under control?"
A commentator in Delhi-based daily
Hindustan Express (June 1) writes caustically: "In fact the Maoists
are also Indian citizens and it is said that their movement is for
getting justice to the oppressed people of the society. Evidently,
there is a clear difference between the terrorists and those involved
in a struggle for their demands — that they are Muslims and Maoists
respectively. In other words, it can be said that the Maoists cannot
be terrorists because they not are Muslims."
Science and God
The success of the team of the American biological scientist, Dr Craig
Venter in producing an artificial living cell has created a debate in
religious and scientific circles around the world. Many Urdu papers
have lauded Dr Venter's achievement. The daily Sahafat (May 20) has
described it as "the greatest invention of the century." Describing
the view of some religious leaders to the effect that Dr Venter's
achievement amounts to equating human beings with God as a "backward
mindset", the paper says: "How can human being compete with God? Human
being is only knocking at the closed doors of mysteries of creation
which should be welcomed."
Hindustan Express (May 25) writes: "If we think seriously, this feat
certainly does not amount to man's equality with nature. Yes, it is
getting to know some of the many secrets of nature and making use of
the knowledge acquired and positive and negative uses of any knowledge
are possible."
Compiled by Seema Chishti
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