A journalist (once a Garhwal Post employee), who has his origins in West Bengal as belonging to the Scheduled Caste category but whose parents moved many years ago to Hyderabad in then Andhra Pradesh, has not been able benefit from the reservation policy. This was because his caste name was not notified as such in Andhra. Does it mean that the move to Hyderabad had rid the family of the inherited ‘social disadvantages’? In reality, he has done quite well in life, but that is another story. The point is that a person’s caste status can depend on lists prepared by bureaucrats that differ from state to state.
The controversy that has been triggered by a Delhi University form seeking the exact mention of students’ sub-caste probably has its roots in this contradiction. Those seeking admission from other states may not have their sub-castes mentioned in the university’s list regarding castes. The number of castes in India is stated by some to number 3000, and sub-castes as many as 25,000. Others put the numbers much higher. So, if uniformity is to be brought about on a national basis, as required by the proposed caste census, those entrusted with identifying castes in various categories will have a gargantuan task to perform. Add to this the fact that, while some castes are identified as SCs in some states, they belong to the OBC category in others.
In the social context, also, those who are willing to identify as SCs or OBCs for exercises such as the caste census, do not like it mentioned in any other context. While the caste identity is still forced upon people in villages and small towns by dominant communities, the anonymity of the urban setting in larger cities provides a preferred class identity. Where they can voluntarily choose an identity, they prefer to be recognised as individuals in this context. As such, mere mention of the caste that has otherwise provided reservations and jobs is considered an affront. In many cases, this sensitivity actually causes others to keep their distance, undermining the very purpose of the social justice objective.
Even where caste distinctions exist and are enforced, it is ironically members within the caste itself, who are slightly higher on the social scale, that insist on the hierarchical order. It is only natural, therefore, for questions to be raised about how useful further caste classification under one or the other survey would prove to be in ending discrimination. There surely are better ways to do so.
