Daily Briefing: The (caste) numbers game
Big Story
The last caste-wise data for India was taken in 1941, during the Second World War, but it was never published. Post-Independence, successive governments stuck to enumerating only Scheduled Castes and Tribes, leaving a yawning data gap. This led to a decades-long demand for caste enumeration in the national census. The reasoning was simple: the numbers are needed for welfare activities. Shyamlal Yadav traces the history in this explainer.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remained cagey on the subject for long. It has routinely dismissed state-led caste surveys, most notably in Bihar, Telangana, and Karnataka—all under Opposition governments—as divisive stunts. But now, in a striking volte-face, the BJP seems ready to champion the cause it once derided.
Why now? As my senior colleagues Vikas Pathak and Liz Mathew report, the timing is no accident. Post-Pahalgam attack, the government, enjoying public and the Opposition's support, is on its surest footing yet. The move also steals the thunder of the Opposition, mainly the Congress, which has long made it the mainstay of their demands, just in time for the Bihar elections.
Questions: Hailing the move as a victory of their vision, the Leader of the Opposition and Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi, says it shows that they can pressure the government. His agenda now would be pushing the government to remove the 50 per cent quota cap. Gandhi said that while he welcomed the move, he also had a pertinent question: When will this exercise begin, given that the 2021 Census has already been delayed?
Pahalgam aftermath
📌 Tensions have been flying high between India and Pakistan ever since the April 21 Pahalgam attack. The United States called upon the neighbours to 'de-escalate' the situation. Speaking to State Secretary Marco Rubio, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted that the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
📌 In a routine weekly call between the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India and Pakistan, the former strongly objected to multiple ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC.
📌 India has also closed its airspace to Pakistani aircraft, days after Islamabad made a similar move against Indian airlines. However, this may not amount to much, as Pakistan has a limited international footprint, unlike India's booming aviation sector.
🎧 You can also tune in to today's episode of the '3 Things' podcast for the latest updates on the hunt for the terrorists.
Must Read
Express Adda: 'I can stand up to my govt… I am in the alliance, but I am not with the BJP.' In the run-up to the Bihar elections, Chirag Paswan, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries and one of the youngest political leaders in Bihar, joined us for the latest edition of Express Adda. He discusses identity politics, alliance governments and why caste still matters in the state.
Game of chicken: The halt in trade between the world's largest economies, China and the US, in the face of steep tariffs on both sides, is untenable in the long run. The trade war must end, but who will blink first? Amid inflation concerns and empty retail shelves, Washington seems to be the ripe candidate.
And Finally…
Eleven Bihar revenue officials have been camping in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur for months. They have an unusual task: to identify, measure, and meticulously record details of tracts of land in UP that belong to the Bettiah Raj, a zamindari estate dating back to the 17th century. The land, spread across the Champaran region, was once owned by Harendra Kishore Singh, the last king of Bettiah Raj, who died heirless in 1893. In this fascinating, long read, we trace how the land exchanged hands and finally ended up with the Bihar government.
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