Outreach campaigns pick up steam ahead of national caste census

Time of India

27-05-2025

Bengaluru: Representatives of several backward and marginalised communities across Karnataka have launched awareness drives to ensure community participation in the forthcoming national caste census, which is likely to be conducted next year.
Political parties, social groups, and individuals have begun mobilising people at the grassroots, stressing the census's potential impact on future welfare and reservation policies. The Karnataka unit of BJP has rolled out a phased statewide campaign focusing on deprived classes. The outreach began Tuesday, and the programme includes a series of meetings with Dalit communities over three days.
Radha Mohan Agarwal, BJP national general secretary in charge of Karnataka, convened the initial meeting with elected representatives from the Left sect of Scheduled Castes.
Meetings with representatives of the Right sects are scheduled for Wednesday, followed by sessions with various OBC castes and sub-castes in later phases.
"The idea is to prepare the ground for the national census and ensure people of all communities participate fully," said N Ravikumar, BJP chief whip in the legislative council. "We have planned extensive outreach programmes, and our functionaries will visit taluks and blocks in groups from early next month."
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Besides political mobilisation, individuals and social activists have also taken up the cause. CB Shashidhar (Tuda), former chairman of Tiptur Planning Authority and a Congress functionary, is spearheading a campaign in Tiptur taluk, engaging OBC communities in small group meetings. He plans to expand the initiative to Tumakuru district and eventually across the state.
"The significance of this census is that it will include, for the first time in independent India, an enumeration of castes," said Shashidhar.
"It would not be successful unless people constructively take part. Also, while the BJP-led central govt has announced a caste census, it should not be limited to a mere announcement. Our objective of mass mobilisation is to ensure the Centre stays committed to its promise.
We will launch an awareness programme later."
Shashidhar's team is collecting feedback from people and preparing a wish list to ensure the enumeration is "scientific" and leads to equitable distribution of reservation benefits based on population and backwardness.
Senior BJP functionaries suggested that the Centre may constitute the census committee by Aug, with door-to-door enumeration expected to begin in Jan 2026. The Union govt has also sought inputs from the Karnataka govt regarding its ongoing internal reservation survey and details of a mobile app used for data collection.
Civil society groups are also engaged. Jagrutha Karnataka, which recently hosted a panel discussion on caste census in Bengaluru, will hold a similar event in Mysuru on June 1.
"The initiative, which has two phases, is aimed at sensitising people about caste census. The first phase focuses on spreading awareness on the importance of the census and the second phase is to prepare people to take part," said Prof BC Basavaraj, convener of Jagrutha Karnataka.
Even politically dominant communities like Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas have joined in, having previously raised objections to the findings of the state caste census.
"Lessons learnt from the state caste census has made us plan an outreach programme," said BS Sachidananda, state vice-president of Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva-Lingayat Mahasabha. "The Mahasabha has already launched a campaign. We have held two events — one in Doddaballapur and another in Yelahanka — on Sunday."