Karnataka May Conduct Another Survey To Determine Population Of Different Groups Within SCs Amid Long-Pending Caste Data Release

The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka is reportedly planning to conduct a survey to determine the population of all Scheduled Castes (SCs) groups amid the long pending caste survey data.

Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC) conducted the caste survey between 2015 and 2017 during Siddaramaiah's initial term as Chief Minister (CM) but no government released it publicly.

However, the state finds itself now dealing with a lack of empirical data on different sub-castes within the SC community. For this, Justice Nagamohan Das Commission was established in November last year.

Anticipated to deliver its provisional report within a week, the Commission may recommend a new SC survey, according to high-ranking government sources cited by The Indian Express.

These groups are either part of the SC left or are the most disadvantaged among the SC groups. This lack of clarity is apparent in the reports from earlier government panels, including the Justice A J Sadashiva Commission, which presented its report to the government in 2012.

The current Congress government's effort to deliver on its central manifesto commitment of providing internal reservation to SC sub-castes has been hindered by the absence of thorough empirical data on all SC groups.

This promise was made by the party in the run-up to the May 2023 Assembly elections, in response to the calls from various SC groups like Madigas, who also fall under the SC(Left) category, for appropriate sub-quotas. These groups alleged that the more developed SC communities were monopolising all the reservation benefits.

In a pivotal ruling on 1 August 2024, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court permitted states to create sub-categories within the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). This move was aimed at ensuring that the more disadvantaged castes within these groups could also benefit from the quota system.