Karnataka: Cabinet orders re-survey of caste census

In a significant move, the Karnataka cabinet has decided to conduct a re-survey of the caste census following an extensive discussion in today's meeting. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressed a press conference to announce the cabinet’s decision, which came after considering the views of various ministers.

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The decision stems from a review of the report submitted by the Backward Castes Commission, which had earlier conducted a detailed social and educational survey using 54 criteria. CM Siddaramaiah explained that the original survey was conducted in 2015 during his previous tenure as Chief Minister. The survey, which began on April 11, 2015, was a massive house-to-house exercise covering an estimated 5.98 crore people, with participation from 1.6 lakh staff members, including 1.33 lakh teachers.

The CM noted that the estimated population in 2015 was 6.35 crore, based on the 2011 census figure of 6.11 crore. However, the report, commonly known as the Kantaraj report, was not finalized before the Congress party lost power in 2018. Following his resignation, a coalition government under CM Kumaraswamy took over, with Pudtarangshetty as the Minister for Backward Classes. It was during this time that the Kantaraj report was completed.

The cabinet now seeks to update and validate the findings through a re-survey.