House panel on OBC welfare likely to discuss caste enumeration in coming months

Union Cabinet approves caste enumeration in Census, sparking discussions in parliamentary committee on the way forward.

With the Union Cabinet greenlighting caste enumeration in the next Census, the doors have now been thrown open for the House Panel on Welfare of Other Backwards Classes to begin deliberations on the way ahead. The parliamentary committee, headed by BJP MP Ganesh Singh, is likely to add this to the agenda of its meetings in the coming months, The Hindu has learned.

Members of the committee, both from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition, told The Hindu that the issue of caste census had been raised in meetings of the panel from the first meeting after it was constituted last year, adding that discussions can now focus on how the caste enumeration should be done and what the Government should consider as it proceeds.

Sources close to the Office of the Chairperson said the committee is prioritising discussion on the caste enumeration among its activities. They added that these deliberations will begin with a careful examination and analysis of the 1931 caste census, the last such exercise conducted.

“It will have to be seen what the 1931 Census counted and where these castes stand now. There will also be a special focus on how to begin enumerating castes that have migrated since they were last enumerated,” one committee member told The Hindu.

Another member, Chhattisgarh MP Vijay Baghel said that the issue will see spirited discussion as soon as the chairperson brings it on the agenda, adding that the issue of difference in status of castes across States will also have to be examined.

“There is a lot of work to be done. Rules and procedures will be designed, suggestions will be taken from all quarters, and all issues will be brought before the Government,” he said.

Indian National Congress MP Manickam Tagore said, “We have been raising the issue of caste census in each of the committee’s meetings ever since the first sitting. Now that the Government has agreed to it, the panel will be able to have productive discussions and even members of the ruling party will welcome it.”