Why does the Centre sound afraid and anxious and afraid to carry and conduct caste census getting a sense of the social and economic backwardness of the smaller castes within the fold of SCs and STs?
How else can their upliftment, amelioration and empowerment be assessed, weighed and evaluated for the policies and programmes promoting their overall welfare and well-being? I believe the government by being in denial with merits and manners of it is shooting in the dark cynically responding and reacting to the requests of their allies- Apna Dal and Janta Dal United recently inducted in the cabinet.
OBC bill became a reality after being overwhelmingly passed by Lok Sabha by a two thirds majority under 127th constitutional amendment giving exclusive rights to the states for notifying and identifying sub groups within the other backward castes.
Perfectly capturing the dualities of the centre, electorally leveraging a legislation cherishing its goals and objectives of a de facto Hindu Rashtra furthering the marginalization and “mandalization” of OBCs along with plebiscite and polarization of SCs.
RSS, which has been catchy and cautious on reservation knows how not to toe the line with its chieftains and functionaries wholeheartedly supporting and standing by their words, sentences and statements consciously preserving and promoting its very idea instrumentally appropriating caste consciousness amongst them as a tool and technique for mobilizing and consolidating its base and constituency of Hindutva.
MS Golwalkar’s “Bunch of Thoughts” was critical of caste as a category deeply influencing and impacting human awakening and rationality responsible for lack of unity and uniformity within the Hindus. Does it recognise a difference from the RSS advocating and defending reservation as a guarantee for proportional representation, equality and dignity contradicting Golwalkar’s vision and version?