Congress Catches Up With BJP: Karnataka Begins Scheduled Caste Survey For Sub-Categorisation In Reservation Benefits

A census of Scheduled Caste (SC) communities was initiated by the Congress-led Karnataka government, days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government announced that the nationwide census would include caste enumeration, a caste census in other words.

Karnataka has initiated the census to classify the SC sub-castes under different groups, following the suggestions of a preliminary report from the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission, established to provide a report on internal reservation for SCs in the region.

Recently, another Congress-ruled state Telangana became the first state to implement SC sub-categorisation. 65,000 teachers have been appointed by deputy commissioners of the respective districts to conduct the census.

The survey is set to be conducted in three stages, as announced by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during a press briefing on Monday (5 May). The first stage, running from 5 to 17 May, will involve door-to-door data collection.

The second stage, scheduled from 19 to 21 May, will include special camps for individuals not covered in the first stage. In the final stage, from 19 to 23 May, the government will initiate an online process where members of SC communities can voluntarily disclose their sub-castes and answer other questions in the survey questionnaire.

The 'Comprehensive Survey of Scheduled Castes – 2025' handbook outlines its intention to gather data on various aspects of SC family life. This includes the family size, educational history and reasons for ceasing education, employment status, yearly income, and the advantages gained from educational reservation policies.

Additionally, the survey will collect information on the family's assets, their source of drinking water, and the characteristics of their living area. All of this data will be organized according to the 101 sub-castes that fall under the SC category.

“After getting exact data, we have asked the Commission to submit details in 60 days. Recommendations (on internal reservation) will be made after that,” Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying by Indian Express.