After row, Punjab government to remove ‘objectionable’ casteist words from drug survey forms
Officials said the format for the drug and socio-economic survey in Punjab was sourced from the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The Department of Rural Development and Panchayats, the nodal department conducting the drug and socio-economic census in Punjab, has been asked to modify the forms. (Representational image) After the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) sought a report from authorities in Punjab over the alleged use of casteist words in Census-related forms, the government has decided to delete the controversial terminology from the ongoing drug and socio-economic survey being conducted across the state.
Sources in the government said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday cleared a proposal moved by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment to remove two caste-indicative words from the survey format and replace them with the word “Valmiki”.
The Department of Rural Development and Panchayats, which is the nodal department conducting the drug and socio-economic census in Punjab, has now been asked to modify the forms accordingly. “A meeting to this effect had taken place on Tuesday. The decision was taken that these two objectionable words should be done away with if they were hurting sentiments,” a senior official said.
The controversy had erupted after the state launched its much-publicised drug and socio-economic census, an exercise aimed at mapping the extent of substance abuse and the socio-economic conditions of affected households. During the survey, objections were raised by Dalit organisations and activists over the presence of caste-linked terminology in the forms being used by enumerators.
Officials said the format being used by Punjab was originally sourced from the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The issue snowballed after complaints reached the NCSC and the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis. The NCSC subsequently issued notices to the Directorate of Census Operations, Punjab, and the Punjab government, seeking an action-taken report within 15 days.
The Punjab Directorate of Census Operations had maintained that the terminology was not newly introduced and had existed in earlier Census formats as well. Director of Census Operations Navjot Khosa had stated that the proforma being used dated back to 1950 and was linked to constitutionally recognised caste categories.
Remove ‘insulting’ words: Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission
At the same time, the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission also approached the NCSC, demanding the removal of what it termed “insulting and socially discriminatory” expressions from Census draft forms and online self-enumeration portals.
The row also acquired political overtones with Opposition parties and Dalit leaders accusing both the Centre and the state government of insensitivity in the handling of caste nomenclature in official documents.
Punjab’s drug and socio-economic census is among the first such state-level exercises attempting to simultaneously document patterns of drug abuse and the social profile of affected families, amid mounting political debate over the extent of the narcotics problem in the state.
Navjot Khosa, Director of Census Operations, Punjab, said, “The Directorate of Census, Punjab, is fully committed to conducting the census strictly in accordance with the law, upholding the highest standards of sensitivity, transparency, and inclusivity. “
“Any grievance that has come to our knowledge has been promptly taken up with the nodal department of Census, that is, the Department of Local Government, Punjab, and the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, Punjab, for necessary action and addressing the issue with due attention to ensure public trust,” Khosa added.
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