Page 3 - Caste

Telangana govt to take up caste census soon, says CM Revanth Reddy

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the state government would soon take up caste census as promised to people before elections. Reddy, who held a meeting on issues concerning minorities, backward classes and tribal welfare departments, directed officials to take steps for carrying out the caste census, an official release said. The CM also asked officials to prepare budget estimates for implementing 'Kalyanamastu' scheme of providing one tola gold in addition to financial assistance of Rs one lakh to girls from BPL families at the time of their marriage. He directed officials to prepare estimates on the funds required for all types of government welfare hostels being run by the government. He said funds would be released in 'green channel' (expeditious release of funds) as per the estimated expenditure. He instructed officials to furnish details on the government residential schools which are being run in rented buildings and also to identify lands for ...

Following Bihar, Andhra Pradesh govt begins comprehensive caste census

The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday kicked off its comprehensive caste census to enumerate all communities in the state. Information and Public Relations (I & PR) Minister C Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna said the census is scheduled for 10 days from January 19. "The comprehensive caste census is scheduled for 10 days in one phase and if needed, it will be extended by four or five days," Krishna told PTI. The Minister noted that volunteers will visit each and every home to collect the caste details, which will be relayed to the village secretariat system. Andhra Pradesh becomes the second state after Bihar to take up the caste census. Krishna said officials in the village secretariat system across the state will verify the accuracy of information collected by the volunteers and correct it, if necessary, before making the final record. Each volunteer will cater to 50 households. Krishna exuded confidence that the entire census process will be completed before the issuance of th

Inter-caste marriages can't be prevented, part of change: Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said if a young man and woman like each other and decide to get married, irrespective of their caste or faith, no one can prevent the union. Vijayan said there has always been opposition to such marriages from parents of either side or both families, but that has not stopped such marriages. The CM was responding to reporters' queries in connection with a prominent Islamic scholar on Wednesday 'accusing' the ruling CPI(M) and its youth outfits of promoting inter-caste marriages and mixed culture in the name of secularism. Vijayan said that neither the SFI, the student wing of the CPI(M), nor the DYFI, the Left party's youth outfit, were working as "inter-caste marriage bureaus". "Such changes are happening in the state in accordance with the times and no organisation or the government is doing anything to bring about these changes," he said. "If a young man and woman like each other and decide to get married, no one in the world ca

Andhra govt to begin comprehensive caste census on Dec 9: Minister Krishna

The Andhra Pradesh government will begin a comprehensive caste census on December 9 to enumerate all castes, Information and Public Relations Minister C Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna said on Friday. Noting that completing the caste census is a major goal of the YSRCP government, the minister said, "It is important to have a caste census to transform the living standards of people". Noting that there has been no caste census in India post independence but only a population census, the minister noted that the government is eliciting opinions from caste representatives across the state, an official press release said. Exuding confidence that the state would conduct the caste census in a fair and comprehensive manner, Krishna said Andhra Pradesh's enumeration exercise will emerge as a role model across the country. He asserted that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is renowned for ensuring social justice, and claimed that opposition parties are shivering at the mere mentioning of a

Karnataka govt in tight spot as dominant communities oppose caste census

Karnataka's Socio-Economic and Education Survey, popularly known as the "caste census", is mired in controversies even before the report is submitted to the government, amid deep divisions within the ruling Congress, stiff opposition by dominant communities against its acceptance and the survey's original "work-sheet" copy missing. There are also indications about a delay in the submission of the survey report by Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, with the government extending the tenure of its current Chairman, K Jayaprakash Hegde by a couple of months, until the submission of the report, originally due this month. What has put the state government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who on Tuesday had asserted that his decision to accept the report is unwavering, in a tight spot is Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar being a signatory to a memorandum submitted to him, requesting to reject it along with the data. Along with Shivakumar, who hails from the dominant ...

Will launch movement if Bihar not given special category status: Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced that he will launch a state-wide movement if the Centre does not grant special category status to the state at the earliest. The JD(U) leader, who has been demanding special status for many years, said the state needs this in order to move forward. If the Centre does not grant special status to Bihar at the earliest, we will launch a state-wide movement The demand for a special status will be heard in every nook and corner of the state during the movement, he said while speaking at a function here. Those who do not support the demand are not interested in the development of the state, Kumar said. He said the Bihar legislature recently cleared bills to hike the quota for deprived castes from 50 per cent to 65 per cent in government jobs and educational institutions, taking the overall reservation to 75 per cent, on the basis of the caste survey, conducted by the state government. We have planned a number of welfare initiatives

Bihar Assembly approves raising caste quota in govt jobs, education to 65%

The new reservation quota includes 20% for SCs, 2% for STs, 18% for OBCs, and 25% for EBCs

Nitish Kumar in soup over his 'birth control lessons' in Bihar Assembly

A day after his remarks on educated women and family planning sparked controversy, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday apologised for his statement

Bihar caste survey: Here's what it reveals about poverty, jobs in the state

Bihar caste survey: Around 99.49% of people belonging to the SC category in the state have no access to laptops

OBCs decoded: How backward classes in India were categorised and recognised

The Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward

CWC's caste census decision powerful step for liberation of poor: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the party's working committee has taken a "historic decision" unanimously to support the idea of a nationwide caste census, asserting that it is a "powerful step" for the emancipation of the poor. Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Gandhi expressed confidence that a vast majority of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties will support and push for a caste census. If any party has a different opinion, the Congress is flexible, "not fascist", he added. Flanked by the party's chief ministers in four states, Gandhi also said the decision of the CWC to support a caste census is a "very progressive" and "powerful" step for the emancipation of poor people. Talking about the idea of caste census, the former Congress chief said this 'X-ray' is needed for a new paradigm and development in the country. Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked party workers

Congress meet decides caste survey will be its main poll plank in MP

The Congress' central election committee on Saturday held deliberations on the names of candidates for about 140 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh and also decided that the party's main poll plank will be the conduct of a caste survey in the state. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary organisation K C Venugopal and general secretary in charge of the state Randeep Surjewala, state party chief Kamal Nath and members of the central election committee attended the meeting. "The Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting was held (in Delhi) today. We discussed candidates' names for about 140 seats. The names will be finalised in the next 6-7 days," Nath told reporters after the meeting. Surjewala said the issue of a caste survey was discussed at the meeting. "We have decided that (conducting) a caste census in Madhya Pradesh will be our main agenda," Surjewala told reporters. The election to the 230-member assembl

Weekend Bites: RBI kills one bird with one stone, future of 50-over cricket

In which we munch over the week's platter of news and views

SC questions Bihar on publishing caste survey numbers, but puts no bar

The Supreme Court Friday questioned the Bihar government as to why it published its caste survey data but refused to restrain it from making public further data, and said it may examine if the state has power to conduct such an exercise. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S V N Bhatti issued a formal notice on a batch of pleas challenging the August 1 order of the Patna High Court that gave the go-ahead for the caste survey in Bihar. The SC bench listed the matter in January, 2024. It rejected the petitioners' contention that the state government has already published some data preempting a stay. They sought a complete stay on further publication of data. "We are not staying anything at this moment. We cannot stop the state government or any government from taking a policy decision. That would be wrongWe are going to examine the other issue regarding the power of the state government to conduct this exercise," the bench said. The top court, however, questioned the counsel for t

Conduct national caste census to ensure social justice, says Congress

The Congress on Monday welcomed the Bihar government's move to release the findings of a caste census and called upon the Centre to immediately conduct a similar exercise at the national level to ensure social justice and provide a firm foundation for social empowerment programmes. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the caste census of Bihar has proved that 84 per cent of people in the state are OBCs, SCs and STs and their share should be according to their population. "Out of 90 secretaries of the central government, only 3 are OBC, who handle only 5 per cent of India's budget. Therefore, it is important to know the caste statistics of India...," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the UPA government led by the Congress had conducted a census but its results were not published by the Modi government. "The Bihar government has just released the results of the Caste Survey conducted by it in the state. While welcoming the ...

Govt's submission to SC on plea challenging caste survey exposes BJP: JD(U)

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) on Monday alleged that BJP's "anti-poor, anti-OBC, anti-reservations" stance stood "exposed" with the Centre's submission before the Supreme Court on a petition challenging the state's caste survey. JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', while citing the submission of Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, also pointed out that "former Attorney General" had appeared as the petitioners' counsel before the Apex Court. "The BJP seeks to project a pro-OBC face for electoral gains. Its boast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi being an ati pichhra (extremely backward class) is a part of this strategy. But its character has been anti-poor, anti-OBC and anti-reservations", Lalan said. "The BJP has always claimed that it is in support of the caste survey, which as the chief minister says, would benefit not just the OBCs but also all sections of the society, including the economically weaker sections. But it has tried to put hurdles befor

Rich or poor, there's a caste element in financial recovery after Covid-19

Religion and region have shaped how families are doing, data shows

CFA Institute's inclusion push to take account of caste, gender neutrality

The focus has recently been on new-age technology companies, where disclosure quality, audit quality, and shareholder rights are areas that have attracted regulatory attention, says Arati Porwal

National SC Commission serves notice to Zomato over 'casteist' ad

A government panel has now announced that it will investigate the matter and has also issued a notice to Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal

Patna High Court orders stay on Bihar govt's caste-based survey

The Patna High Court on Thursday ordered a stay on the caste survey being conducted by the state government. Hearing a bunch of petitions, a division bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad directed the government to immediately stop the caste-based survey, and ensure that the data already collected are secured and not shared with anybody till final orders are passed. The court fixed July 7 as the next date for the hearing. "We are of the considered opinion that the petitioners have made out a prima facie case against the continuation of the process of caste-based survey, as attempted by the State of Bihar. There is also the question raised of data integrity and security which has to be more elaborately addressed by the State," the court said. "Prima facie, we are of the opinion that the State has no power to carry out a caste-based survey, in the manner in which it is fashioned now, which would amount to a census, thus impinging upon the legislative po