After multiple delays, the Karnataka Backward Class Commission chairman, Jayaprakash Hegde, has submitted the long-awaited caste census report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The report, which was initially commissioned in 2014 during Siddaramaiah’s first tenure as chief minister, has faced setbacks and controversies over the years.
The socioeconomic and education survey, often referred to as the caste census, was first initiated under the leadership of Siddaramaiah in 2013. However, its completion was hindered by various issues. The term of the previous chairman of the commission, H Kantharaj, ended in 2019, and Hegde was appointed as his successor in 2020.
The report, which was ready in 2018 before the Karnataka assembly elections, faced hurdles when both BJP chief ministers BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai refrained from taking any action citing a “technical issue.” They highlighted that a member secretary of the commission had not signed the report before being transferred from the post.
Now, after years of anticipation, the report is set to be presented before the state cabinet in the upcoming week. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that he would place it before the cabinet for discussion, following which a decision would be made regarding its presentation in the assembly.
Hegde clarified that the previous report compiled by Kantharaj couldn’t be submitted due to technical reasons, but the current commission has compiled and submitted the census report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He emphasized that the contents of the report are confidential, and it is up to the government to decide its fate.
Responding to questions regarding the scientific validity of the survey, Hegde defended its credibility, stating that labeling it as unscientific without reading the entire report is unwarranted. He dismissed claims of inaccuracies in media reports regarding the survey’s findings.
The survey, conducted between April 11, 2015, and May 30, 2015, involved 1.6 lakh officials, including 1.33 lakh teachers, and surveyed 5.98 crore people from 1.35 lakh families. The process incurred a cost of Rs 164.84 crore, and the data collected in 2015 was validated by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, based on the 2011 Census.
