Social, political and economic equality is not easy to achieve without clear data on the disadvantaged population, their status and their socio-economic location. This creates an inherent flaw in every so-called level-playing field created by elected governments.
The underprivileged are robbed of equal opportunity for development, education, prosperity, opportunity and overall upliftment.
Data oppression is the manipulation and suppression of caste numbers through convenient methodology, lop-sided survey technique and selective application. It is also normalised in policy and narrative, which enables moral and political justification for incomplete welfare. Further, it aids the arguments for reduction of financial burden of social welfare.
Data oppression creates and maintains wave of direct and indirect exploitation
In effect, data oppression creates and maintains a wave of direct and indirect exploitation. Ironically, this takes place in a free India and despite our emancipatory Constitution. Caste census, as envisaged by Shri Rahul Gandhi, ends data oppression and facilitates real social justice to take place.
Data oppression imposes exclusion on the underprivileged from nation’s mainstream physically, conceptually, politically, and economically. Following are a few examples of each type. One, physical exclusion.
The downtrodden are invisible to the corporatised media that refuses to present their case or tell their story. The second example is that of conceptual exclusion. The underprivileged remain out of policy spaces that give unequal advantage to those with excellent but expensive private education over public education.
The third way is political exclusion. Although caste representation in politics has been a game-changer, political parties divert it away from the original purpose of correcting historical wrongs. Four, economic exclusion. While the deceptive economic growth story excludes a majority of India, it panders to the rich and controls the middle class, and gets away doing both.
Riding this wave of oppression are dominant forces that use social justice ornamentally, while consistently thwarting caste census. The Telangana caste census is more than the truth about numbers, it is about empowering the oppressed.
That is the reason behind the desperate opposition to this revolutionary step, with some astonishingly weak arguments against methodology, scope, technique and, of course, final results. Most questions and issues have been addressed by the Telangana government within days.
It is of historic importance to profile the protesters against the caste census. The BJP is trying to fail the Telangana caste census, hoping that it would not have to conduct it across the country. Within Telangana, BJP has outsourced the opposition to its regional surrogate, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
BJP and BRS’s attempts to fail the caste census in Telangana
BRS claims that it conducted a caste survey about a decade ago. In a state of approximately 4 crore population, the survey was done in one single day. The methodology was not available for review and the data collected was never published. Reason for all of this is now evident. The earlier BRS Government did not want to acknowledge the true numbers in Telangana in terms of caste, which the Congress government made public through the caste census or the socio-economic, education, employment, political, and caste (SEEEPC ) survey.
Looking beyond the opposition rhetoric, it is important to note how the Telangana caste census highlights the absolute necessity of such an exercise in every state and by the union government.
A wide-spread consultation process formed the base of the exercise, facilitated by the Telangana Congress and also non-political, non-partisan experts, in which this author was a part. Various aspects of the census were discussed in detail. Suggestion and concerns were shared, which informed the methodology and even the language of the questions asked.
This led to the historic conference with Shri Rahul Gandhi on November 5, 2024 in Hyderabad to announce the caste census.
Through G.O.Ms No. 18, dated October 10, 2024, the Telangana Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Revanth Reddy, decided to conduct the caste census. The methodology was to visit door-to-door with a survey questionnaire of 57 questions. Similar surveys done by governments of Karnataka and Bihar were studied to fine-tune the methodology.
Referring to the analyses of these states, the best practices were identified and incorporated in Telangana caste census. Overall, information was collected on 75 fields relating to the citizens.
Also Read: Telangana Caste Survey: What Did It Find and What Have Its Critics Said?
The objective of the Caste Survey was fixed and remained unwaveringly focussed on achieving the goals. The G.O. states it unequivocally that the objective was, “To plan and implement various socio-economic, educational, employment and political opportunities for the amelioration of Backward classes, SC and ST citizens of the state and other weaker sections of the state.”
The planning department of the Telangana government conducted the census which had three major parts – house-listing, survey schedule and guidelines for enumerators. Together, these formed the methodological core of the census.
Conducting any survey is the real test of its methodology, and requires both diligence with the technique and dynamism with solutions. Around one lakh enumerators and supervisors were on field for the survey. The 33 districts of the state were divided into 94,261 enumeration blocks, each with 150 households. One enumerator was appointed for each enumeration block and for every 10 enumerators, there was a supervisor. This created a strong reliable structure for implementation of the methodology to its fullest extent.
Telangana caste census shows the way to end data oppression
Starting November 6, 2024, houses were listed for three days and the census began on November 9. After 50 days of survey, the process ended on December 25. Statistics of households covered are: total 1,12,15,134; rural 66,99,602 and urban 45,15,532.
Households not surveyed were 3,56,323, which were mostly in GHMC/Hyderabad area. Yet, the survey had 96.9% coverage and all disclosure was voluntary. In total, 3,54,77,554 individuals gave their information for the caste census. The findings showed the following composition of castes in the state –scheduled castes (SCs) 17.4 %; scheduled tribes (STs) 10.4%; backward castes (BCs) 46.2%; Muslims 12.5%; and other castes (OCs) 15.7%.
These facts reveal the data oppression that had taken place earlier. For example, in the 2018 local body elections in rural Telangana under the then BRS Government, the BC quota was sought to be reduced. Many such examples reveal the physical, conceptual, political and economic exclusions that data oppression leads to.
Keeping in view the reversal of injustice, the Congress-led Telangana government has taken several steps to course-correct policy and implementation. First, the Telangana cabinet has approved increase of BC reservations to 42%. Second, those who might have been left out of the caste census were given a chance to engage, from February 16 to 28. Third, as the BC population was not renumerated by Census 2011, and the caste census will be taken as a benchmark for large-scale programmes for social justice.
Within a record 50 days, the real picture of the caste in Telangana was known to the Government and people. Those who oppose caste census, like the BRS in state and BJP nationally, must explain why they would still want to continue with data oppression of the underprivileged. Data oppression has been a state-run project, which remained unchallenged till now. Telangana caste census shows the way how to end this across the country.
Kota Neelima is an author, politician from the Congress party in Telangana and also a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
