If 81 pc of nations can conduct a census despite Covid, why can’t Modi govt?

Amid an ongoing debate over the "fake" caste census conducted by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar and the delay in the national census exercise, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday, 1 April, criticised the Modi government in Parliament for "indefinitely delaying the census" and reiterated the demand for a caste-based census.

Speaking during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Kharge emphasised that even during times of war, the decadal census was conducted without disruption.

He pointed out that despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, 81 per cent of countries worldwide have successfully conducted their census.

Kharge accused the Modi government of being unwilling to carry out the exercise and questioned why, if the government already collects data on Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), it cannot include data on other castes as well.

Notably, the Modi government has allocated only Rs 575 crore for the census this year, a meagre sum that — according to Kharge — reflects its reluctance to conduct the exercise and its neglect of its importance to the nation.

The Congress president further warned that due to this delay, crores of people are being excluded from welfare schemes and policymakers are making decisions without access to reliable and up-to-date data.

It is also worth mentioning here that Congress government in Telangana has conducted a caste census. Telangana has become the first state to implement reservations based on a caste survey, with its legislative assembly passing a key bill to increase reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) to 42 per cent in government jobs, educational institutions and local body elections.

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi has suggested that the Telangana model could serve as a template for a nationwide caste census, providing valuable insights into the socio-economic conditions of different communities.

Analysts believe that Telangana's caste census was conducted in a comprehensive manner, yielding detailed demographic data. This approach is seen as more effective in identifying the needs and challenges faced by various communities and could be a model for the rest of the country.