Karnataka caste census report bats for 51% OBC quota

The Karnataka caste census commission has recommended increasing the reservation quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from the current 32 per cent to 51 per cent for education and employment in the state.The commission has also advised the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to implement horizontal reservation policies within the employment quotas. Horizontal reservation provides quotas for categories like women, persons with disabilities and the like across all vertical reservation groups such as SC, ST and OBC. If implemented, this would raise the total reservation in the state to 85 per cent, including 10 per cent for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and 24 per cent for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST).
In 2020, the Karnataka government headed by the BJP appointed Jayaprakash Hegde as the chief of the caste census commission, but the report was not made public. Mr Hegde submitted the final report to the Siddaramaiah government in February 2024. The Jayaprakash Hegde commission also recommended restructuring the classification within the OBC categories, according to the report. The Siddaramaiah government will take a decision on the commission's recommendations on April 17. The report was submitted to the state cabinet in more than 46 volumes. Data on various aspects of the caste survey was recorded in two CDs and given to the government.
The panel's proposal is based on the findings of a recent survey, which estimated the population of backward classes in the state at nearly 70 per cent. Citing this data, the report argues that increasing reservation in proportion to the population is necessary for the equitable distribution of government benefits and opportunities.
In 2014, during his first tenure as chief minister, Siddaramaiah ordered the Karnataka Socio-Economic and Educational Census. A committee headed by the then Backward Classes Commission Chairman H Kantharaju did the survey at a cost of around Rs 169 crore. The report was ready by 2016; it was, however, put in cold storage by subsequent governments. The Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy and the BJP government headed by BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai also kept the report pending.
Opposition parties, the BJP and JD(S) have opposed the implementation of the report. Major caste groups, such as the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, alleged the report has done injustice to them in terms of their population representation. Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka assembly R Ashoka said on Friday the caste census report prepared by the Siddaramaiah government was not scientific. "The people conducting the caste census did not visit every household. This report was prepared under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's instructions. Since it has political motives, no one will accept it. I, too, am saying that a caste census should be conducted. But this report was designed to sow discord among castes for someone's benefit," Ashoka said.
Siddaramaiah in February said the caste census was conducted scientifically and his government would implement it without any doubt.

(State Correspondent)