Bangalore--Thirty three out of 55. That was Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s score when enumerators came to his official residence here Thursday morning with a questionnaire as part of the state’s ambitious ‘socio-educational census’, better known as the caste census.
Siddaramaiah struggled to give a round figure for his total annual income (including salary, rent from a commercial complex, and earnings from agriculture). He said he would have to consult his personal secretary. And he chose not to tell the officials his subcaste (it’s optional). All he would say was that he was a Hindu and a Kuruba by caste. Asked if he had obtained the benefit of caste reservation, the CM said “No”.
Launched on April 11 by the Karnataka Backward Classes Commission, the census process will last the month. The government calls it an exercise to achieve social justice.
H Kantharaju, the president of the commission, said it was wrong to see the survey in pure caste terms and that it would help establish the “social, educational, political and economic background of families”. The data would help the government plan programmes to bring the backward classes into the mainstream, Kantharaju added.
The list of 55 includes blanks to be filled against religion, caste, sub-caste, other names of the caste, the original occupation of the caste, the Aadhaar number, the voter ID number, marital status, if married more than once, the age of marriage, education, if dropped out of school then why, and source of family income.
Indian Express
