The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has reacted guardedly towards the caste census survey, fearing that it may be used as a "political tool," sources said.
Even though the RSS has not made an official comment on the Union government's move to make caste-based enumeration a part of the next decadal census, it has had a traditional stand against caste divisions.
The outfit, however, feels that questions such as sub-categorization and the introduction of a "creamy layer" within the quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes need to be addressed after large-scale consultation and consensus-building with concerned stakeholders.
This stance follows closely after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at the latter’s official residence. The RSS, which has long championed its ‘Samajik Samarasta’ or social harmony campaign aimed at uniting Hindu society, has previously indicated that the caste enumeration issue should not be viewed through a political lens.
Sunil Ambekar, the RSS's chief spokesman, spoke to the media in Kerala's Palakkad last September, underlining that caste relationships are sensitive issues which had a great bearing on national unity and integrity. He further said that such matters have to be handled tactfully, free from the influence of electoral politics.
Answering questions regarding the caste census, Ambekar said, "The RSS believes that, for all welfare work, especially for communities or castes that are backward and in need of special consideration, if the numbers are needed by the government, it is a long-standing practice. Such information was gathered earlier. But it must be done solely for the benefit of those communities and castes, not as an electoral political tool."
The RSS has clarified that it does not mind the compilation of caste data but only to be used in the interest of public welfare, and not in pursuit of political or electoral gains based on divide-and-rule ideologies. This clarion call has now come to be regarded as the turning point enabling the Narendra Modi government to go ahead with the caste census without encountering substantive ideological opposition from its core vote bank.
With the RSS providing its national-level support and the ground work for implementation already in place in Bihar, the caste census is set to have a strong bearing on India's socio-economic and political context, particularly at the electoral level.
For a country still struggling with issues pertaining to social justice, representation, and economic equality, this exercise may offer the empirical evidence necessary to inform policymakers, welfare planners, and political leaders.
While the government prepares for this massive data-gathering exercise, it is clear that the caste politics is about to enter a new chapter—one of number-crunching as opposed to rhetoric.
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