Latest news with #Veerashaiva-Lingayats
Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Karnataka: Cabinet discussion on caste survey inconclusive, second time in 2 weeks
The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday held another round of discussions on the Social and Educational Survey report, commonly referred to as the caste census, but once again stopped short of reaching a decision, with Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister HK Patil confirming that the deliberation remained 'incomplete'. Most ministers have submitted their written responses to chief minister Siddaramaiah, while a few are yet to do so. 'The cabinet today once again discussed the Social and Educational Survey report, the discussion was incomplete. The chief minister had earlier asked the cabinet ministers to give their opinion in writing and most of the ministers' opinions have reached the Chief Minister except three or four,' Patil told reporters after the meeting. 'The subject will be discussed in the next cabinet meeting or the one after that, after getting certain details and studying them,' he added. The Thursday's meeting marks the latest in a series of delays by the Congress-led government in deciding on the caste census report. The meeting on May 10 was also inconclusive, with ministers receiving additional data, including population statistics broken down by taluks and districts, prompting calls for a more detailed review. The cabinet convened a special meeting on April 17 exclusively to debate the report, but it too ended without a resolution. At that time, some ministers reportedly raised concerns about the methodology and accuracy of the survey, labelling it as unscientific and outdated, and pointing to possible undercounting. These concerns led Siddaramaiah to request written feedback from each minister. Criticism of the survey has intensified in recent weeks, particularly from influential community groups. The Vokkaligas and Veerashaiva-Lingayats, Karnataka's two dominant communities, have strongly objected to the findings, demanding that the report be scrapped and a fresh survey conducted. The groundwork for the caste census was laid during Siddaramaiah's initial tenure as chief minister, involving an extensive 2015 survey costing ₹162 crore. Although Siddaramaiah announced his acceptance of the report in June, its contents and release date remain undisclosed. The leaked data indicated that Scheduled Castes (SCs) accounted for 19.5% of the state's total population, followed by Muslims at 16%. Lingayats and Vokkaligas represented 14% and 11% of the population, respectively. Within the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Kuruba community alone comprised 7% of Karnataka's population, contributing to the OBCs' overall representation of 20% in the state. Collectively, these groups, including SCs, STs, Muslims, and Kurubas, formed a substantial portion of the population at 47.5%. The political implications of these findings could significantly impact the state's political landscape, according to federations of marginalised sections.
The Hindu
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Veerashaiva-Lingayats to seek separate religion code in upcoming census
Veerashaiva-Lingayats, who are contesting the population data in the 2015 Socio-Economic and Educational Survey report of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, are set to seek a separate religion code for the community in the national census that will commence in 2026. The Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha will petition the Centre for a religion code. The executive committee of the mahasabha will meet soon and draft the contents of the petition. Political backdrop The idea of a separate religion status for Lingayats had been a widely contested issue ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections in Karnataka. Though the Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha has been seeking a separate religion code for the community for decades, the Jagathika Lingayat Mahasabha, which spearheaded an agitation in 2017, sought a separate religion tag for 'Lingayats.' Then Ministers in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Cabinet, M.B. Patil and Vinay Kulkarni, were part of the campaign. While the demand for separate religion has come from both groups, the difference is over the nomenclature, a Veerashaiva mahasabha source explained, cautioning that the differences could crop up again with the Veerashaiva mahasabha set to seek a separate code for 'Veerashaiva-Lingayats.' In 2011, separate codes were assigned to Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. There was a separate column for 'other religions and persuasions'. Ahead of the 2001 and the 2011 census too, the Veerashaiva mahasabha had petitioned the Centre seeking the religion code. But after being denied the same, the community members, through a 'jana jagruthi jatha' were asked to write 'Veerashaiva-Lingayat' in the column meant for 'others' instead of identifying as Hindus, Veerashaiva mahasabha sources said. Since 1940s 'Seeking a separate religion tag is not new. The Veerashaiva mahasabha in its 1940 conference at Kumbakonam had passed a resolution seeking separate religion tag for Veerashaiva-Lingayats and petitioned the then British government. Our record shows that even before the 1971 census, a similar demand had been made,' Veerashaiva mahasabha secretary H.M. Renuka Prasanna said. The 2015 survey conducted by the commission, headed by H. Kantharaj, has put the population of Veerashaiva-Lingayats in Karnataka to be about 66.35 lakh of the 5.98 crore surveyed, or about 11% of the State population. The Veerashaiva mahasabha has disputed the figure and claimed its number to be far higher around 18%-22% of the State population. The 2026 census will now be another measure for the population. The Veerashaiva-Lingayats are the dominant land-owning community in north and central Karnataka, and seen as politically powerful too, though it is part of backward classes Category 3B in the current OBC classification. Apart from a sizeable population of broader Veerashaiva-Lingayat community spread across Karnataka, the Veerashaiva mahasabha is counting on the community's considerable numbers in neighbouring Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
New Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
With national caste census announced, CM may change tactics on Karnataka report
BENGALURU: The Union Government's announcement on Wednesday that The two dominant communities have termed the census 'unscientific' and demanded a fresh survey to determine populations of communities. They have argued that the state's caste census is decade old and obsolete. For the national caste census, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) is likely to take up the task as caste is included in the national census, experts said. It is to be seen whether NCBC commissions the census to the state backward classes commission, they added. In the changed scenario, the Siddaramaiah cabinet may keep aside caste-wise population figures and debate on the data on the status of communities. A special cabinet meeting was scheduled for May 2 to discuss the caste census, but the meeting has been postponed indefinitely. The April 17 special cabinet meeting, called specifically to discuss caste census, remained inconclusive as ministers refused to accept the report. Siddaramaiah then asked them to go through specific data on the status of communities, sources said. Out of 41 volumes, data nine throws light on the status of communities including the political aspect of communities. Siddaramaiah asked officials to furnish exhaustive data on it to ministers. 'More than the population of communities which became a contentious issue, the debate on the status of communities is more important,' a Siddaramaiah sympathiser said. This will help the CM defend the commission's recommendation to increase the quota for Veerashaiva Lingayats from 4 to 8% under 3B category and 3 to 7% for Vokkaligas under 3A. State's backward classes commissions in the past had recommended taking away quota from the socially and educationally forward communities in the state. The Article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution allows states to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes Political scientist Prof Sandeep Shastri recalled that the Havanuru commission had recommended taking away the reservation for Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas, whereas the Venkatswamy commission had recommended taking away the Veerashaiva-Lingayat quota. After 1956, these two communities constituted a majority of MLAs in all assemblies, he pointed out. 'Caste is an important political identity in modern India and it may not have anything to do with the traditional ritual and hierarchy it represents. Though of course, there are forms of injustice still continued, but today in politics caste is an important identity which everyone uses for their advantage and for their group consolidations, as a result caste has become an identity and it's important for caste leaders to emphasise on how large and significant their caste group is. Caste group leaders would like to emphasise the strength and importance of their group and their strategic relevance,' he analysed.
India Today
27-04-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Pitfalls of the Karnataka caste count
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated May 5, 2025)A long-gestating item on Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah's policy wishlist finally made it to the agenda of a cabinet meeting on April 17. The consternation among the Congress's own legislators, the aggravated tones in community debates in the state, perhaps beyond, all that had been building up. For, on the table was the 306-page report of the Karnataka Social and Educational Survey (KSES) 2015—the first caste census of recent times, predating that of Bihar and methodologically more comprehensive, to see the light of day. The report gives a detailed break-up of the caste composition of Karnataka's population and, based on a weighted assessment of socio-economic, educational and employment parameters, recommends a hike in reservation quota for the Backward Classes, a demographic segment now confirmed as accounting for about 70 per survey was commissioned in 2014, a year into Siddaramaiah's first term in office, and remains the first such door-to-door survey conducted by Karnataka since 1984. (The Union government's own 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census famously stayed under wraps.) Prior to that, the only caste-based demographic data had come from the 1931 all-India census, which had included a caste count. A decade behind the veil, the KSES 2015 report has always been a political minefield. Once made public, resistance to its results came from various quarters, most vocally from Karnataka's two biggest caste groups—the Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas—who cast doubt on the accuracy of the exercise that covered 59.8 million people, or 94 per cent of Karnataka's estimated 63.5 million citizens. A purported 'leak' in 2016 of the numerical strength of major communities had aggravated their fears of an undercount, causing a furore. The actual survey data, however, did not make it to the open then—in fact, its report was never submitted to the government. It was not until 2023, when Siddaramaiah returned to power, that an order was issued tasking K. Jayaprakash Hegde, the then chairman of the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission, to prepare a full report utilising data from the 2015 Hegde handed over his new report in February 2024 but it remained in its sealed boxes—till it was sprung on everyone at a cabinet meeting on April 11. The April 17 meeting was set to formally discuss its implementation but, amidst much gnashing of teeth, it remained inconclusive and a new date, May 2, has been set for the discussion. There are two theories about the problematic passage the report is facing even within the Congress government. One contains motives worthy of a political thriller. This more dramatic script focuses on the fact that the report's unveiling coincides with Siddaramaiah completing two years of his second tenure. From the start, it's been a stint defined by his rivalry with deputy D.K. Shivakumar, who has been biding time for a shot at the top job. Talk of a mid-term change-of-guard has been one of the enduring intrigues in Karnataka, giving rival parties ample chance to target it. 'The CM uses the caste census as a distraction whenever his chair is under threat,' said the BJP's R. Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, in a post on April 16 post also reeled off a volley of 12 posers on the report, which Ashoka termed 'unscientific'. He also pointed out that Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, was a signatory to a 2023 demand by a caste body, the Rajya Vokkaligara Sangha (RVS), to reject the report. Like other Vokkaliga leaders, he implied, Shivakumar will be answerable to the community. That he went into a huddle with party MLAs ahead of the April 17 meeting, and that it stayed inconclusive, did not disprove that line. (Graphics by Tanmoy Chakraborty) THE WELFARIST LOGICThe other theory is more anodyne. The caste census has been a key plank of the Congress in recent times—Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is now one of its chief votaries. Building up momentum around the theme, Bihar had released its own caste survey in October 2023. Congress-ruled Telangana came out with its own census in February 2024. In fact, during the recent All India Congress Committee meeting at Ahmedabad, Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy came in for praise for the accomplishment. The caste census was also a key promise in the Congress manifesto for the 2023 Karnataka assembly election. By this token, Siddaramaiah had procrastinated for a year, and had little choice but to table the long-pending report has a long history of seeking to assess community-specific markers of socio-economic progress and working those into affirmative action. The princely state of Mysore was among the pioneers of backward class reservation. A committee set up by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV recommended in 1921 that all communities other than Brahmins should be regarded as backward. In the past 50 years, there have been three committee reports that guided the state's backward quotas: the Havanur report of 1975, the T. Venkataswamy report of 1986 (which was rejected), and the Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy report of 1990. However, in 1994, the Karnataka government formulated a reservation policy that exceeded the 50 per cent cap set by the Supreme Court, and therefore had to be revised following a legal challenge. Thus evolved a categorisation of backward classes into five groups that is still being followed. The categories—I, IIa, IIb, IIIa and IIIb—account for 32 per cent reservation. Since quota for Scheduled Castes and Tribes was enhanced to 24 per cent in 2022 under a BJP regime, the total reservation in Karnataka stands at 56 per cent now. Barring the SC/STs, Brahmins and a handful of other small castes, all others, including backward Muslim and Christian sub-groups, are part of the Backward Classes, who form approximately 70 per cent of the KSES Report 2024 backs this up with data collected via a 54-point questionnaire during the 2015 enumeration. According to it, the SCs and STs formed 18.3 per cent and 7.2 per cent of the state's population, respectively. Of the other segments, the biggest were Muslims, with a population of 7.6 million (12.9 per cent); Veerashaiva-Lingayat at 6.6 million (11.1 per cent); Vokkaliga at 6.1 million (10.3 per cent); and the backward Kuruba at 4.4 million (7.3 per cent). The report recommends increasing the state's backwards quota from the existing 32 per cent to 51 per cent. It also advises dividing an existing OBC quota category into two, moving some castes from one to the Congress MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa, also the president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, has warned of a backlash if the report is implemented, saying the Lingayats and Vokkaligas will fight together. Arguing that the data is flawed, the Mahasabha points out that the Veerashaiva-Lingayats had been estimated at 6 million, then 17 per cent of the population, by the Chinnappa Reddy Commission in 1990. Claiming an undercount, saying the 2015 enumeration left out as many as 16 sub-castes within the community, it has called for a fresh RVS has taken a similar stand, and calls on Vokkaliga legislators to resign if the report is implemented. It's not just the Vokkaliga numbers—the figures for Lingayat and other communities, too, 'have left me shocked,' said Union minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, a Vokkaliga and state president of the Janata Dal (Secular), in a post on X on April 15. Accusing the CM of using the caste census as a political tool against some communities, Kumaraswamy asked: 'There are 101 castes under the IIa category, and there's a 15 per cent reservation. Who has taken the largest share of this?' The veiled reference was to Siddaramaiah's own Kuruba community, which is currently in the IIa category. The report recommends that it be moved to the 'most backward category' of Ib, where, critics say, it would get a bigger slice of the quota pie. CUT AND THRUSTK.M. Ramachandrappa, president of the Karnataka State Backward Castes Federation, and a Kuruba leader, has a ready riposte. 'Let them bring information about Kurubas. I, too, will bring information about how Vokkaligas have benefited. Let's both discuss publicly,' he says. Each of the previous commission reports, he points out, had faced resistance from forward castes. The government, he says, should release the full data of the 2024 report to remove ambiguities, if any. 'There are many small communities that still don't know where they stand. We don't have clear information about whom all the state's programmes have reached over the past 50 years,' says data is exactly what many ministers had sought at the April 17 cabinet meet, according to law minister H.K. Patil. Even if the Siddaramaiah government is treading cautiously, that perhaps is the only real long-term cure for confusion. Caste is a political hot potato, but the Congress has taken it upon itself to peel it for the greater to India Today MagazineMust Watch
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
The chaos of Karnataka's caste survey
The story so far: On April 11, a nearly 10-year-old Socio-Economic and Educational Survey (popularly called the Caste Census) prepared by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes was dusted off and accepted by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet. Two days prior, the listing of the Caste Census in the Cabinet's agenda for discussion had surprised many. For the Chief Minister had on multiple occasions announced a discussion only to rescind it as political implications were believed to be far-reaching and difficult to handle. The data was collected by the commission through government-appointed enumerators in April-May 2015 from about 1.35 crore households covering a population of 5.98 crores — nearly 95% of the then projected population of 6.35 crores (Census 2011 population figure for Karnataka is 6.11 crores). While the survey was conducted by H. Kantharaj Commission, the survey report, data and recommendations were submitted by K. Jayaprakash Hegde's Commission in 2024. Though the survey findings and recommendations were ready by late 2017, Mr. Kantharaj could not submit the report since the member-secretary had not signed it. Subsequently, the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government and the BJP government that succeeded it also did not receive the report. As population figures became clear after the Cabinet received the data, causing tremors in the political landscape, the fault line between the politically dominant Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayat communities and other backward class communities became clear. The Cabinet met again on April 17 to discuss the recommendation, but did not decide on the matter. While further debate has been deferred again for May 2, no clear decision on the commission's recommendation is expected. Meanwhile, the issue has reached the doors of the Karnataka High Court. What are the major findings? The vexed survey is being keenly watched for population figures of castes/communities for political reasons, though its goal had been to provide insights into 'backwardness' that the government could use to develop programmes aimed at uplifting such communities. The survey has pegged the total population of backward classes in the State to be about 70%. Muslims are the single largest bloc with about 75.25 lakhs or 12.58% of the total population, followed by Veerashaiva-Lingayats, a dominant and politically strong land-owning community in North and Central Karnataka, with 66.35 lakhs or about 11% of the population. The population of Vokkaligas, a dominant and politically strong land-owning community in the Old Mysore region, has been put at 61.58 lakhs or about 10.29% of the State's population. The Scheduled Castes constitute 18.2% or about 1.09 crore of the population, and the Scheduled Tribes number at 7.1% or 43.81 lakhs. Together, both constitute 24.1% of the population. The general category comprising Brahmins, Arya Vaishya, Mudaliars, Nagartharu and a section of Jains are about 29.74 lakhs or about 4.9% of the population. What has the Hegde Commission recommended? The commission has recommended an increase in the total reservation matrix for backward classes from the current 32% to 51%. Based on the weightage given to communities on socio-economic and educational parameters, it has recommended re-classification of castes; Instead of the current five categories, it has recommended six. It has proposed the removal of exemption from creamy layer policy for castes in Category 1, which are the 'most backward'. Kurubas, the politically stronger and perceived to be educationally forward among the backward class communities, have been moved from 'more backward' to 'most backward' category, along with a few other castes. Kurubas constitute 43.72 lakh or about 7.31% of the population. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah belongs to the Kuruba community. The socio-economic and educational data of the communities are yet to be released. Only the methodology used in the survey, the questionnaire, population data and recommendations for reclassification have been provided to the Cabinet Ministers so far. The government is yet to officially release the report for public discussion. How have the politically dominant communities reacted? The dominant communities have rejected the findings of the report outright, stating that they were 'unscientific'. Both Rajya Vokkaligara Sangha and All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha have sought another survey, questioning the authenticity of the population data. Citing data from previous commissions, they claimed that Vokkaligas should be around 12% to 14% and Veerashaiva-Lingayats around 17% to 22% of the population. They said that many households from their communities have been left out of the survey, and that there was confusion in enumerating members of sub-castes. The data is too old to be accepted was another complaint. Cabinet Ministers from these communities have already met separately and closed ranks to register their protest. Moves are afoot for joint meetings of representatives from both communities to plan protests together. Legal avenues are also being explored. Other communities, including Brahmins, Christians and Yadavas/Gollas, have also stated that their population figures have been under-reported. How has the commission justified its survey? The commission said that the survey was scientific and unbiased, and carried out using government machinery. Nearly 5% of the population was left out due to reasons such as migration, being absent at home during enumeration and lack of cooperation. While enumeration in rural areas was 99% to 100%, cities had a lower percentage, with only Bengaluru hitting 85%, the commission said, noting that even the national Census leaves out 3% of the population. Given the geography and population size, some are bound to be left out, it said. Are there other issues in the report? Experts have been critical of the removal of exemption from creamy layer policy to the Category 1 castes that are labelled as the 'most backward' among the backward classes. Among the castes listed in 'most backward' communities are about 50 nomadic and semi-nomadic communities that have neither found representation in government jobs nor the political realm, with literacy levels still lower than 50%. Eyebrows were raised over moving the Kuruba community from 'more backward' to 'most backward' category. The community has for long been perceived to have taken reservation benefits in education and public employment. They have had good representation in politics too. The report does not provide insights into 'adequate representation' that the courts have relied upon to justify the reclassification of categories. The recommendation of enhanced reservation for OBCs to 51% breaches the Supreme Court's 50% ceiling for reservation. With 24% reservation for SC/ST and 10% EWS (yet to be implemented in Karnataka), the reservation matrix will reach 85%, which could invite legal trouble. Why has the survey come up for discussion now? Considered a political minefield, the survey was in cold storage for nearly a decade. The Congress, in its manifesto ahead of 2023 Assembly elections, had promised to accept the findings. Ruling dispensations have been under pressure after Bihar announced its caste census findings. Neighbouring Telangana has gone ahead with enhanced OBC reservation. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi's nudge during the recently-concluded Congress session at Ahmedabad is believed to have spurred the Congress government here to accept the report. Party insiders also believe that the survey was brought up for discussion by Mr. Siddaramaiah to consolidate his position as leader of backward classes and 'checkmate' Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is said to be waiting on the wings to succeed him. What happens next? The State Cabinet is set to discuss the report again on May 2. The discussion so far has been only around the procedures in data collection. Public Works Minister Satish Jharkiholi has indicated that it could be a year before the report is accepted. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil has said that the Cabinet is no closer to a discussion on the survey report. Speculations are rife over a Cabinet sub-committee being set up to discuss the issue before it is brought to the Cabinet again at a later date.
