RSS Cautions Against Using Caste Census For Politics

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has said that it remains cautious about the caste census survey being used as a "political tool", according to sources.

The Sangh has not officially reacted to the Union government's decision to conduct caste-based enumeration along with the decadal census. 

The RSS has been traditionally opposed to divisions and segregation on the basis of caste but has taken a position that issues such as sub-categorisation and introduction of a creamy layer within quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be carried out after "consultation and consensus building" with the stakeholders.

The Union government's decision to conduct caste census survey came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at the former's official residence.

The Sangh, which has been driving the 'Samajik Samarasta' or social harmony campaign, to unify Hindu society, has previously said that the issue of caste enumeration should not be perceived as a political agenda.

Addressing the media in Kerala's Palakkad in September last year, the Sangh's chief spokesperson, Sunil Ambekar said caste relations are sensitive issues and important for national unity and integrity. "...So, it should be dealt with very sensitively and not based on elections or electoral politics," he said.

In response to a question on the demand for caste census, Ambekar said then, "The RSS feels that, for all welfare activities, particularly those for communities or castes which are lagging and who need special attention... if the government needs the numbers, it is a well-established practice. Earlier, such data, was collected...But it should be done only for the welfare of those communities and castes. It should not be used as a political tool for elections."

The RSS clarified that it had no objection to the collection of caste data, provided it is used for 'public welfare and not for divisive political-electoral agendas'. 

This statement is now being viewed as a crucial green light that enabled the Narendra Modi government to move forward without facing ideological backlash from its core support base.

With both Bihar's ground-level implementation and the RSS's national-level backing, the caste census now appears set to redefine the terms of India's socio-economic and political policy, as well as its electoral discourse.

For a country still grappling with the realities of social justice, representation, and economic equity, this exercise could potentially provide the empirical foundation that policymakers, welfare planners, and political leaders have long lacked.

As the government prepares to embark on this massive data exercise, one thing seems clear: the politics of caste is entering a new phase -- driven by numbers, not just narratives.

—IANS

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