For the last many years some political parties and also some social organizations working on many social and economic welfare measures, were asking the government to conduct caste-based census as many government schemes which are formulated for the welfare of socially and economically deprived sections of society, funds to be allocated for their welfare could not be determined in the right spirit due to lack of exact figures of those sections of society like SCs, STs and OBCs. But now the Central Government has itself declared that caste based census would be conducted as last such census were conducted many decades ago.
But another factor which also needs to be taken into consideration, while conducting such census also deserves to be pondered over more seriously, is religion itself. Whenever some matter relating to religion crops up, our political leaders often say in high volume and equally emphatically that there are more
than 80 % Hindus in India, which is simply misleading conception. It must be borne in mind that people belonging to the deprived sections of society i.e. SCs, STs and OBCs are often considered as Hindus only when political parties want to have some benefit by including all reserved category people as Hindus,
but as soon as that particular purpose is resolved, all reserve category people become untouchable for them.
All people of this country are quite well aware that even though untouchability has been declared a crime many decades ago, discrimination based on caste, colour, creed or religion etc. is also a crime; but despite this fact which has been written in the constitution of India, discrimination based on these factors still persists in our society. Daily we read in many newspapers and also listen on news channels that people belonging to the reserved categories, so many types of atrocities, excesses and injustices are often inflicted upon them due to their lower castes. People of lower castes are not allowed to enter temples in
many parts of the country, more particularly in UP, Bihar, Uttrakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Odissa etc., young boys of these castes are not allowed to ride on horse backs while their marriage procession has to be carried out, dead bodies of their family members are not allowed to be
cremated in the common village cremation grounds, recently a news also appeared in print media that the Jats of a village in District Barmed of Rajasthan became so much filled with anger and hatred that they dug out a dead body of a Dalit woman with the help of JCB and took it to their home and her family was told to perform her cremation at their own house and not in the common cremation ground of that village. What a shame and disgrace? One wonders – are these people living in 21 st century or 18 th century and what type of mentality those people are having – feudalistic mindset? All developed countries are moving forward and making all round progress and but we Indian are moving backward and shaming the whole nation. On the top of it, all big leaders are keeping a studied silence over such matters – a conspiracy of silence?
It is very much pertinent to mention here that discrimination based on caste does not merely confines to lower strata of society, its application and impact goes much beyond that. While selection of candidates for government jobs from the reserved category of people, often the candidates from SC / ST and
OBC categories are rejected on one pretext or the other, when the interview committee comes to know their caste and in official records, impression is created to the society that – suitable candidates are not found and the seats meant for them as per reservation policy are filled up with general category
candidates and this policy of denying their share of jobs goes on unabated for the last many decades. Same policy of filling up vacancies with general category candidates is adopted in promotions as well.
This malaise of discrimination against the reserved category people goes on even in political circles. That’s why we have seen that when the new parliament building was completed, many big leaders were invited for attending Hawan / Puja ceremony in the last week of May 2023, but the then President, Ramnath Kovind was not invited. Statue of father of Indian Constitution, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was also not installed at the new building, though all big and small government departments / institutions are functioning according to the rules, policy and procedures written in the constitution by him. This instance has been taken as an insult by crores of his followers? Similarly, current President Draupadi Murmu was also not invited for the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple at Ayodhya because of her caste. Just a few days ago, another caste based oppression / atrocity matter has come to light from district Ballia of UP, where a group of upper caste people attacked the hosts of marriage being performed saying that – “how can you conduct marriage of your daughter in a marriage hall, because you are Chamars?” Jealousy and bigotry at its peak….. But surprisingly, when elections are held, people including Dalits, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims, all are treated in a good manner and treated at par with Hindus. Upper caste leaders even go to their homes to take tea or eat food to convey the message that they believe in equality and universal brotherhood. And their double standard (chameleon character) of treating reserved category people as Hindus gets fully exposed just after two months of result of the elections?
And the latest case, recently when the current Chief Justice of India, B.R. Gavai visited his home state Maharashtra (on 19 th May, 2025) after becoming CJI, and at a felicitation event in Mumbai , organised by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, CJI Gavai lamented, “We say that there are three pillars of democracy, viz. legislature, executive and judiciary, and that all are equal. Every organ of the Constitution must reciprocate and give its due respect to the other organs. A person from Maharashtra is coming to the state as Chief Justice of India for the first time, but Maharashtra’s Chief Secretary, the state’s
Director General of Police and the Mumbai Commissioner of Police do not feel it necessary to welcome him as a matter of respect, whereas the official protocol demands that they should be there to welcome him.” Just because of his caste, he was not given his due share of regard and protocol. The last full-scale, nationwide caste census in India was conducted in 1931 during British rule and this census included the entire British India, which included present-day Bangladesh and Pakistan. After gaining independence, though census were conducted many times, but caste-based census was always avoided due to obvious reasons. Though it was planned to conduct census in 2021, but this big nationwide exercise could not be done due to prevailing Covid 19 pandemic. During census, many new parameters (like having telephone, mobile, bike, refrigerator, laptop, air-conditioners, computer – with or without Internet facility, car, house / plot, level of education of each member of the family, etc.) are taken into consideration, then why caste based head counting continued to be avoided for so many decades?
In view of the foregoing, many social cause groups which are working for the education and welfare and upliftment of reserved category people feel that they should not be included as Hindus. Rather a separate head should be created in the categorization of religion section and these reserved category people should be written as Bahujan Samaj and three sub-categories should be made under this Bahujan Samaj, namely (a) Scheduled Castes, (b) Scheduled Tribes and (c) Other Backward Castes. Only then more realistic
figures of caste based census will get clarified and all fund allocation for the welfare of these reserved category people can be determined. Another major myth will also unfold itself that Hindu religion is the biggest religion, and the false propaganda and impression often being created by many big leaders that
the Hindus are in biggest majority in India, will also evaporate just within a couple of days. On the contrary, Bahujan Samaj whom Manuwadis with their Samantwadi mindset, attitude and behaviour have been defaming, ignoring and demolishing their social and economic interests; will evaporate just like
camphor. And lastly, when the feudalistic Hindus often disdain reserved category people, these Bahujan Samaj people are also not interested to be called and written as Hindus.
Once this big exercise gets completed, jobs in government and private sector should be determined based on the result of this caste census. Not only that, all other political posts starting with members of Village Panchayats, Municipal Councillors, MLAs for state assemblies, MPs for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
etc. should also be determined afresh on the basis of this caste based census and it should be borne in mind that people belonging all castes and religions have equal rights over all sources and resources of the country and hence, all vacancies should be given to all sections of society without any discrimination
of caste, colour, creed or religion. Only then, India can boast of making all round development, progress & prosperity and its people capable of competing with other developed nations around the globe. You simply can’t think of making all round development, progress and prosperity by side-lining 85%
population (belonging to the reserved category people) by not giving them jobs of their share and thus denying them opportunities to rise in life and make progress and prosperity.
And we must not forget its consequences, as India remained a chained in the shackles slavery of these useless and unscientific castes and religions before independence, as around 665 kings and rulers who governed India before India gaining freedom for many centuries they had kept these 85 % people out of the light of education, competitions and sharpening their innumerable types of skills and expertise which could have been otherwise used to save India from becoming a British colony.
R.D. Bhardwaj “Noorpuri”
