DMK Rajya Sabha MP, P Wilson, last week demanded that caste census be moved from union list to concurrent list. He spoke to Esha Roy. What is the issue with caste census? As of now caste-based reservation is based on the caste census carried out in 1931. It is on the basis of this census that 27% reservation for OBCs has been provided. Even the Mandal Commission report was based on this. The Centre carried out another caste census between 2011 and 2015 but its report has been kept in cold storage. In 2015, the Centre referred it to Niti Aayog but there has been no movement on it ever since. What powers do states have right now vis a vis caste? States have power to notify Socially and Economically backward classes. States can also announce internal reservation - for instance Tamil Nadu gives 69% reservation for OBC This was done on the basis of the Sattanathan and Ambashankar report. However, even this is not commensurate representation and in order to increase the reservation to represent communities adequately, States need power to conduct census Why do states need the power to carry out caste census? When we provide reservation, it needs to be done scientifically to ensure adequate representation. Second, courts usually strike down reservation by states saying there is no empirical data. What is this empirical data? It is a census. Has the present system of reservation been successful? Even with the inadequate reservation currently, which is not commensurate with the caste population, there are vacancies in reserved seats, depriving the majority of these communities of opportunities and livelihood. What is the recourse for states? To approach courts.
