Caste data could open Pandora's Box in Maha

Although all political parties have welcomed the central government's resolve to include a caste census as part of the national census, experts and officials are citing the upheaval over caste-based quotas that Maharashtra has been witnessing over the last decade and have expressed apprehensions about the potential unrest within and between communities once the micro-level data is revealed.

- Surendra P Gangan

MUMBAI:

Petitioners fighting for Maratha reservation and those arrayed against it said it will not help weed out backwardness as there is no room for more reservation. At the same time, they maintain that reducing the existing quota on the basis of population will not be easy for political reasons and could lead to more tussle within communities.

Most social organisations have welcomed the central government's step. OBC reservation petitioner Mrunal Dhole Patil said that it would help in determining an accurate percentage of castes, paving the way for proportionate representation in politics, scholarships and jobs. "The OBC reservation came into effect in the early 1990s, but no caste-based survey has been conducted since then. The proposed step, by scientifically ascertaining the percentage of castes, will curb the disputes on the reservation given to them," she said.

Dhole Patil said that though many commissions and committees had been appointed by the government in the wake of reservation-related issues, they did not stand up to legal scrutiny. "The caste-based surveys by Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana were always contested for their sanctity, methodology and legal standing," she said. "Besides, these commissions always tend to be biased, as they are constituted with a specific purpose in mind unlike the caste census."