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Why is Bihar’s caste-based survey facing legal challenges?

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Why in the news?

The Supreme Court is set to hear on August 18, petitions challenging the Patna High Court (HC)’s verdict upholding the Bihar government’s ongoing caste survey.

Caste-based survey

• The State government launched a two-phase caste survey in Bihar, stating that detailed information on socio-economic conditions would help create better government policies for disadvantaged groups.
• The survey is estimated to collect the socio-economic data for a population of 12.70 crore in the 38 districts of Bihar. The first phase of the survey, which involved a house listing exercise, was carried out and in the middle of the second phase, the survey was halted due to a stay order from the HC.
• However, a recent HC verdict dismissed all petitions opposing the move, and the government on August 2 resumed work on the second phase of the survey. In the second phase, data related to castes, sub-castes, and religions of all people is to be collected. The final survey report can be expected in September, less than a year before the 2024 election.

What is Census?

A census counts the population of a nation, state, or other geographic region. It records information about the population’s characteristics, such as age, sex, and occupation.

Origin of Census

• The origin of the Census in India goes back to the colonial exercise of 1881. Census has evolved and been used by the government, policymakers, academics, and others to capture the Indian population, access resources, map social change, delimitation exercise, etc.
• However, as early as the 1940s, W.W.M. Yeatts, Census Commissioner for India for the 1941 Census, had pointed out that “the census is a large, immensely powerful, but blunt instrument unsuited for specialized inquiry.”

First Caste Census as SECC (Socio-Economic and Caste Census)

• SECC was conducted for the first time in 1931. SECC is meant to canvass every Indian family, both in rural and urban India, and ask about their economic status, so as to allow Central and State authorities to come up with a range of indicators of deprivation, permutations, and combinations of which could be used by each authority to define a poor or deprived person.
• It is also meant to ask every person their specific caste name to allow the government to re-evaluate which caste groups were economically worst off and which were better off. SECC has the potential to allow for a mapping of inequalities at a broader level.

Difference Between Census & SECC

The Census provides a portrait of the Indian population, while the SECC is a tool to identify beneficiaries of state support. Since the Census falls under the Census Act of 1948, all data are considered confidential, whereas according to the SECC website, “all the personal information given in the SECC is open for use by Government departments to grant and/or restrict benefits to households.”

What is the Significance of Caste Census?

• Benefit in Policy Making: The purpose of a caste census is not merely geared to the reservation issue; a caste census would actually bring to the fore the large number of issues that any democratic country needs to attend to, particularly the number of people who are at the margins, or who are deprived, or the kind of occupations they pursue.
• Reveal Privileged Section of Society: Caste is not only a source of disadvantage; it is also a very important source of privilege and advantage in our society. There is a need to stop thinking of caste as being applicable to only disadvantaged people, poor people, people who are somehow lacking.
• Caste has an Important Position in Indian Society: While census data has been captured for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, religions and linguistic profiles, there has been no profiling of all castes in India since 1931.
• To Address Prevalent Inequalities: Unequal distribution of wealth, resources and education has meant an acute shortage of purchasing power among the majority of Indians. Hence, the caste census helps to address these issues in a democratic, scientific and objective manner.
• Constitutional Mandate: Our Constitution too favors conducting a caste census. Article 340 mandates the appointment of a commission to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes and make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by governments.
• To Burst the Myths: There are a lot of myths which actually deprive a large number of people, particularly on the margins. For instance, In Karnataka, there were claims that among the castes, the Lingayats are the most numerous.
• Reduce Inclusion and Exclusion Errors: With accurate data of castes, most backward castes can be identified. Some have benefited so much across the years, while there are people in this country who have not benefited at all.

What are the Associated Challenges?

• Repercussions of a Caste Census: Caste has an emotive element and thus there exist the political and social repercussions of a caste census. There have been concerns that counting caste may help solidify or harden identities.
• Due to these repercussions, nearly a decade after the SECC, a sizable amount of its data remains unreleased or released only in parts.
• Caste Is Context-specific: Caste has never been a proxy for class or deprivation in India; it constitutes a distinct kind of embedded discrimination that often transcends class.
• For example, people with Dalit last names are less likely to be called for job interviews even when their qualifications are equal to an upper-caste candidate.
• Lack of Trust & Clarity: The Supreme court has time and again asked governments to provide the data related to castes; however, this has not been possible due to the non-availability of such data.
• Other Issues: There are apprehensions that caste-based census would further promote:

• • Caste-based political mobilization.
  • Strong sentiments for or against reservations.

What are the methodologies that can be adopted?

• Comprehensive list of castes can be made and condensed into meaningful categories via machine learning tools. These categories could then be validated by domain experts in various States.
• It can then be used to make a district specific list of castes that would cover more than 90% of individuals in any given district. Respondents can then be allowed to self-identify from the pre-coded list.
• The residual group’s responses recorded verbatim could be categorized later. This is very similar to the technique through which occupational and industrial classification systems are created.

What can be the Way Forward?

• Utilizing Existing Data: As SECC has its own concerns, linking and syncing aggregated Census data to other large datasets such as the National Sample Surveys may help the governments realize the intended benefits of SECC.
• Digital Alternatives: Statisticians pointed out that Census operations across the world are going through significant changes, employing digital methods that are precise, faster, and cost-effective.
• A Preliminary Census: Further, independent of census, a preliminary socio-anthropological study can be done at the State and district levels to establish all sects and sub-castes present in the population.

Conclusion

India runs the world’s largest affirmative welfare program based on caste identity. Reservation in educational institutes and government jobs are provided on the basis of caste identities. The absence of fresh caste census data means that the caste estimates of 1931 are being projected for formulating welfare policies in 2021. To remove these uncertainty, we need caste based census to formulate government policies.

Source: The Hindu