Chandigarh

The Haryana unit of Congress on Wednesday said the caste census can become a historic instrument for social justice only if every caste and community is counted accurately, scientifically and consistently.

The census methodology and questionnaire should provide an appropriate and clearly identifiable Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, along with other constitutionally and administratively relevant social categories, the party said.

The delegation urged the government and Census authorities to consult experts associated with Telangana's Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment and Political (SEEEP) caste survey and carefully study its methodology and experience. Telangana conducted the exercise under a Congress government.

A delegation of Haryana Congress leaders comprising Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana Congress in-charge Sanjay Dutt, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh, state Chairman of the party's OBC department, Chander Parkash, submitted a memorandum to the Haryana governor. Other leaders, including Raj Babbar, Aftab Ahmed and Geeta Bhukkal, were also part of the delegation.

"We respectfully submit this memorandum seeking your kind attention to an issue of profound national importance concerning the methodology of caste enumeration in the forthcoming Census," said the memorandum addressed to the President of India.

The caste census can become a historic instrument for social justice only when every caste and community is counted accurately, scientifically and consistently, the memorandum said.

"Merely asking a citizen his or her caste is not sufficient. The methodology must ensure that different names, synonyms, regional variations and spelling variations of the same validated caste/community are not counted as separate communities," it said.

Correct enumeration leads to correct data; correct data enables sound public policy, equitable representation and social justice, it said.

Across India, the same caste or community may be known by different names, sub-names, occupational titles, regional synonyms and spelling or pronunciation variants.

"If caste names are recorded only verbatim without a scientifically prepared standardised classification and coding system, the population of one community may get fragmented into several separate entries," read the memorandum.

"For example, even simple spelling or linguistic variations may result in different entries for what may, after proper validation, represent the same community. The problem becomes much more serious where communities have several historically or regionally used names," it said.

The Congress said such fragmentation could seriously compromise the reliability and utility of caste data, particularly for OBCs, Extremely Backward Classes, artisan communities, traditional occupational groups and other marginalised sections.

"We therefore respectfully request that appropriate advice/directions may be given to the Government of India and the concerned Census authorities to consider the following measures before caste enumeration," the memorandum said.

"The Census methodology and questionnaire should provide an appropriate and clearly identifiable Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, along with other constitutionally and administratively relevant social categories," it said.

It said a scientifically validated unique caste/community code should be assigned to each recognised caste/community for statistical purposes.

The system should enable validated synonyms, alternative names, regional names and spelling variations of a caste/community to be mapped to the same standard code wherever expert verification establishes that they represent the same community.

At the same time, the citizen's stated caste identity may be preserved in the original response field so that self-identification is respected while statistical standardisation is achieved.

Scientifically prepared state/UT-wise caste master lists should be developed with reference to the Central and State lists and other relevant official records.

No synonym or alternative name should automatically be merged with another caste. Such mapping should take place only after verification through official records, historical and anthropological evidence and expert consultation.

For digital enumeration, a properly designed searchable drop-down menu or assisted selection system should be provided to enumerators.

The system should recognise common spellings, synonyms and regional variants and map the validated response to its appropriate standard code.

There should also be a mechanism for recording a caste or community name that is genuinely absent from the master list, followed by expert verification, as per the memorandum.

The Congress memorandum also said that before finalising the methodology, the government may constitute a multidisciplinary expert group consisting of, among others: sociologists and social anthropologists; demographers and statisticians; census and data-management experts; constitutional and social-justice experts; representatives/experts nominated through consultations with recognised political parties; social organisations and caste/community organisations.

A structured state-wise consultation process should be undertaken before freezing the caste master lists and codes.

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"We particularly request the government and Census authorities to consult experts associated with Telangana's Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment and Political (SEEEP) caste survey and carefully study its methodology and experience," the memorandum said.