No caste please, we're Indians

Outlook magazine carries a story on how an attempt to carry out a caste census is being stonewalled by private sector companies.

When the OBC quota controversy flared up, people questioned the basis for the 27% quota, saying there was no data to back it up. At the time, it was pointed out that there has been a marked refusal on the part of successive governments to collect the data in the first place. Ok, what is past is past, but surely there is merit in trying to see whether quota policy rests on a sound basis of data? This is what the Outlook story says:

<> The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC) is embarking on a massive caste census for the first time since Independence. Besides covering 1.18 crore households across the state, it will also look at the private sector—which is where it runs into resistance. The commission has written to 176 companies, including IT majors like Infosys, Wipro, Dell, Yahoo, MindTree, Sun Microsystems, IBM and HP, asking them to furnish "religion and caste-wise information" of employees But the response has so far been cold. KSCBC wrote to the companies in March this year and set a May 15 deadline for submission of data. But, as a KSCBC official pointed out, "Only 11 companies have provided information, 18 letters were returned undelivered, and three companies have written back that they are unable to furnish the data." Last fortnight, the commission sent out reminders to as many as 154 companies

The report points out that opposition to the survey is not confined to the private sector- many in government would rather not have the facts coming out. Because then we will know who has benefited so far and who hasn't.