Athawale backs caste enumeration during Census, seeks proportional quota benefits

Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday supported the Centre's decision to include caste enumeration during the Census, saying it would help determine the exact population of various communities and aid governments in framing reservation policies more effectively.

The 2027 Census, officially the 16th national Census, will be the first to include comprehensive caste enumeration since 1931 and the country's first fully digital census.

Reservation in states is linked to the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (STs), Athawale said at a press conference in Panaji, adding that Goa has around two per cent SC population and five recognised SC communities.

The Minister of State for Social Justice welcomed the Centre's move to conduct a caste enumeration as part of the upcoming national Census exercise, saying it would provide accurate data on the population of various castes and communities.

The housing survey phase of the census has begun and would be followed by population enumeration, during which caste details would also be collected, the Republican Party of India (A) chief said.

''Once the census is completed, the government will get exact data about the percentage population of different castes, which can help in policy-making,'' he added.

Notably, the Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a PIL challenging the Centre's decision to conduct a caste-based Census, saying the issue falls under the policy domain.

The top court said the government must know the number of persons belonging to backward castes to frame welfare measures.

Athawale noted there has been a long-standing demand from people who migrated to Goa from states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and northern states, where the SC population is comparatively higher, seeking reservation benefits.

The SC communities in Goa receive around two per cent reservation, while Other Backward Classes (OBCs) get 27 per cent reservation, he said.

Praising the Narendra Modi-led government, Athawale termed the introduction of 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) a ''revolutionary decision''.

''Not every family from upper castes or other communities is financially strong. The Modi government decided that families not covered under SC, ST or OBC reservation, and earning below Rs 8 lakh annually, should get reservation benefits,'' he said.

Athawale also credited Dr BR Ambedkar for ensuring reservations for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution despite opposition at the time.

The OBC reservation was implemented only after former Prime Minister V P Singh accepted the Mandal Commission recommendations in 1990, he said.

The Union minister criticised the Opposition Congress, claiming that despite being in power for several decades, it had failed to implement reservations for OBCs.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)