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Caste Census in Telangana: A Long-Overdue Social Audit

By Alla Ramakrishna

After nearly seven decades of advocacy by India's intellectual and political circles, the state of Telangana has accomplished what many thought was an elusive goal: a comprehensive caste census. This significant undertaking by the Congress government, spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi, represents not just a policy victory but a beacon of hope for the country's backward classes.

The path to this moment has been fraught with political and legal challenges. In Bihar, efforts to conduct a similar census under Nitish Kumar's government met with judicial hurdles, leaving many from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Backward Classes (BC), and minorities feeling overlooked. Telangana's success under Rahul Gandhi's watchful eye juxtaposes sharply against this backdrop, offering a glimmer of optimism to those long sidelined in the national discourse.

Mr. Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022 was more than a symbolic trek; it was a campaign to revive the discourse on caste representation. He posited that understanding caste dynamics would be pivotal for crafting policies that address deep-seated inequalities, a narrative that resonated across India’s socio-political spectrum.

The political arena has seen the Congress and its allies in the India Alliance pushing back against the BJP-led government's perceived reluctance on this issue. The BJP's rise post-2014 was marked by what critics describe as a strategic sidelining of caste data, especially after the 2011 census under the UPA government failed to delve into caste specifics beyond SC and ST.

The BJP's approach to the 2019 elections, critics allege, was one of using the promise of a census for political leverage, rather than a genuine commitment to social justice. The global health crisis in 2020 provided a convenient, albeit legitimate, reason to postpone the census further, but for some, this was a political maneuver.

Fast forward to 2024, and Mr. Gandhi's continued advocacy has positioned the caste census as a central theme in the political discourse, bringing the India Alliance tantalizingly close to power. The legal landscape has also played its part, with a retired engineer from Telangana, Alla Ramakrishna, challenging the government's inaction in court, though specifics of this case remain less detailed publicly.

Telangana's recent completion of its caste survey, followed by the announcement of 42% reservations for BCs in local governance, marks a new chapter. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has staked his government's credibility on implementing these reservations before proceeding with local elections, sparking a debate about the Supreme Court's 50% reservation ceiling set by the Indra Sawhney judgement.

However, the introduction of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) reservations in 2019 has opened discussions about flexibility in reservation policies under special circumstances. For Mr. Gandhi and Congress, the stakes are personal and political; failure to follow through could tarnish their reputation and affect their standing in the national political arena.

As India watches, this resolution could either cement Telangana as a model for social justice or expose the complexities of implementing caste-based policies in a diverse democracy. The coming days might well define not just the political future of key figures but also the social fabric of India

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