Caste census is scientific; surveys necessary to assess social health: Kantharaj, former head of the British Columbia Council

H. Kantharaj. File | Image source: Hindu

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H. Kantharaj, former chairman of the Karnataka Backward Class Committee, said that socio-economic surveys or census should be conducted regularly to assess the health of society.

Kantharaj said at a press conference held in Shivamogga on Saturday (12 April 2025) that a socioeconomic survey was a socioeconomic survey conducted when he was head of the committee, which was an exercise in assessing social health. “Catalization is a reality in India. Discrimination based on caste should be eliminated to achieve equality. Surveys and census are crucial to understand the strength of caste in society,” he said.

Will accept the report of Kantharaj committee: Siddaramaiah

He thanked the National Cabinet for considering the investigation report he completed. He said: “The National Cabinet has considered the report and decided to discuss the incident at its next meeting on 17 April 2025. I welcome this development. I hope the state government can achieve the goals of the report. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is committed to social justice.”

Caste details were collected as part of the annual census as early as 1931. However, there has been no comprehensive caste census in recent decades. The Karnataka government completed its investigation for the first time in 2015. The survey is comprehensive and it covers all families in the state. “The enumerator visited homeless people from door to door during the investigation. Initially, the purpose of the process was 30 days. Later, it extended the time for another 10 days to include the remaining families. The public had the opportunity to consult senior officials,” he said.

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Mr Kantharaj insisted that the investigation was accurate and indeed attempted to cover the entire population. “Even after repeated efforts by the board, some families may be missed. If the house is locked, there is no chance to cover up such families. “This is expected in any investigation,” the former chairman said.

Furthermore, Mr Kantharaj said responding to allegations that the investigation was not scientific, which was conducted scientifically. The committee studied the relevant court judgments and various previous committee reports and consulted experts before conducting an investigation. There is no reason to call it unscientific.