Upping the game in the name of caste

While the poll campaign in the two Telugu states will centre around freebies in the name of welfare, in North Indian states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, it is emotional politics V/s caste politics. The Bharatiya Janata Party will be indulging in emotional politics and the I.N.D.I.A bloc will bet big on caste-based census. Just before elections, all political parties wake up to caste dynamics and poor sections of society, addressing their sufferings and aspirations – and make all kinds of promises. Once the polls are over, the concern, and the special love, vanish into thin air. If anyone goes to meet them, they will ask, “Kaun hai tu?”

Even since the Bihar government released its caste survey data, there has been clamour for such surveys in the poll-bound states. Seizing the opportunity to score over BJP, the Rajasthan government announced caste-based census on the lines of the one in Bihar. Priyanka Gandhi says even in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, they would take up a similar survey if voted to power. The word “if voted to power” needs to be noted here. Note that they are talking about ‘surveys’ as no state government can take up census.

What will the survey focus on? Gehlot says it will look at the economic conditions of different castes and will enable the government to formulate targeted schemes for different groups. Well what were the successive governments, whether it be the Congress or the BJP, doing all these decades? This is one fine way of cheating the people for the sake of votes and come to power. Elections are around the corner in December, and it is just not possible to take up and complete a survey in a scientific manner before that. Hence, the promise of the Congress to conduct them after they are voted to power. They want to use it as a tool to get some votes. That is the love towards the people the bloc I.N.D.I.A has. They will demonstrate all love and concern for the OBC, SC and ST “brothers and sisters.” We have minsters and politicians who slap their security guards but when it comes to elections, they shower concern on weaker sections.

People once in five years have hardly any choice but to elect the same leaders or their kin. No fresh blood is in as one cannot win elections unless they have tons of money and muscle power. This time, caste survey promises adds to their allurements. Bihar’s caste survey has revealed more numbers of EBCs at 36.01%, OBCs at 27.12% of population, while 20% belong to SCs and 1.6% to ST. The general category accounts for around 15%. It is not just enough to count the numbers, but study how the policies of successive governments had affected their lives, economically and politically, too.

Will the bloc I.N.D.I.A explain these factors in the states they are in power? All parties maintain silence on this aspect. The Congress in particular needs to answer why it did not release the Socio-Economic and Caste Census which was conducted in 2011-12 by the UPA government. Why don’t they make it public now and build their case for caste census by the centre? In Hindi there is a saying, “Haathi ke daant Dikhane ke Alag aur Khane Ke alag.” That is what the political parties across the country are.