'Unscientific': Congress Veteran Rejects Karnataka Caste Survey Report, Warns Of Polarisation

News18

22-04-2025

Last Updated:
The Socio-economic and Educational Survey 2015 has faced strong criticism from several sections of society, with many labelling it as unscientific and outdated
Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily on Monday called the state's caste census 'unscientific" and urged the government to reassess the data, warning that accepting the report in its current form could lead to polarisation in the state.
The Socio-economic and Educational Survey 2015, referred to as the caste census, has faced strong criticism from several sections of society, with many labelling it as unscientific and outdated, as the report under consideration is based on data collected by the Kantharaj Commission in 2015, a decade ago.
'The contradictions in the data will have to be answered by the government. It will polarise the society and is politically dangerous. The survey has shown that there is an increase in the Muslim population to the extent of about 4% or 6% while many other backward people are shown less. That's why there is a doubt that the survey was not done scientifically," Moily told The New Indian Express in an interview.
A special cabinet meeting held last week ended without consensus as stakeholders demanded a fresh survey to be held. The cabinet will take up the matter again on May 2.
When asked whether the report is 'unscientific," as claimed by some Congress and BJP leaders, Moily responded, 'The survey was conducted in 2015, and there is a need for a resurvey. We will get an accurate figure only through a fresh survey. Else, the people will dispute the numbers."
Although the full report has not yet been officially released, a reported leak suggested that major caste groups like the Lingayats and Vokkaligas may have smaller populations than earlier assumed.
'Some of the ministers openly said that the population of large caste groups — such as Lingayats and Vokkaligas — was found to be lesser than what had been previously extrapolated. When I released the report of the Chinnappa Reddy Commission during my tenure as chief minister in 1992, the population of Lingayats was much higher than the current report. How can the numbers go down after so many years?" Moily argued.
Notably, the original 2015 survey report was reportedly never submitted to the government due to the absence of the member-secretary's signature, causing the caste census to be sidelined under the Congress-JD(S) coalition and the subsequent BJP government.
In July 2023, with Siddaramaiah back as chief minister, the Congress government instructed Dr Jayaprakash Hegde—appointed by the previous BJP regime as chairman of the backward classes commission—to submit a comprehensive report using the 2015 survey data.
Implementing the caste survey report was one of the promises in the Congress's 2023 Karnataka election manifesto. However, the move has drawn criticism from the opposition.
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