Panel to submit caste census report to CM Siddaramaiah next month

The Socio-Economic Survey, popularly known as the 'caste census', will be submitted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah next month amid growing pressure on him to make it public on the lines of Bihar, where the release of a similar set of data has set off a political earthquake.

The report could reshape the power dynamics in the state, too, which is why every party till now has been wary of revealing the findings.

Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes chairperson K Jayaprakash Hegde said on Tuesday that he would submit the report to the government in November, when his term ends. 

"We are studying the report and its preparation is in the final stage," Hegde said. 

Speaking in Belagavi, Siddaramaiah said he would take a call when he gets the report.

It was Siddaramaiah who commissioned the 'caste census' during his first term at a cost of Rs 170 crore. It was the first such exercise since 1931. At the time, he argued that accurate caste numbers would help the government design welfare programmes. 

However, the survey results were not made public fearing political backlash, especially after some leaked findings indicated that Lingayats and Vokkaligas were not the dominant castes, contrary to popular belief. 

Subsequently, the HD Kumaraswamy-led coalition also kept the report away.

In December 2019, the BJP government, too, indicated its indifference when it denied the Planning & Statistics Department access to "some information" collected in the census "for the purpose of Sustainable Development Goal indicators". 

In 2021, a rather flimsy reason was cited for the delay in the survey report. It is said the then member-secretary of the Commission had not signed the final report. 

According to sources aware of what the numbers could look like, the 'caste census' may put Dalits on top, followed by Muslims, Lingayats, Vokkaligas and Kurubas in terms of population. Extremely backward classes like Idigas, Kumbaras and others together could make up for 20% of the population, it is said. 

Vokkaliga and Lingayat groups have been trying to block the report by saying that the census was done in an "unscientific" manner. 

Siddaramaiah pointed out that the census was done when H Kantharaj headed the Commission. "His term came to an end, the BJP came to power and Hegde was appointed. He hasn't submitted the report yet," he said. 

Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, senior Congress leaders BK Hariprasad and Veerappa Moily want the report released. 

"Let the report come out first. There should be a debate," Hariprasad said. He also said it was "imperative" for Karnataka to follow Bihar, an INDIA alliance partner. 

In April, ahead of the Karnataka polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make public findings of the 2011 caste census. The Karnataka Congress made a manifesto promise that the caste census would be released.