Published: Thursday, May 6, 2010, 2:02 IST
By Harish Gupta | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_jawaharlal-nehru-did-not-want-caste-based-census_1379608
As parliament debates inclusion of caste data in the 2011 census, it has come to light that the issue was first informally discussed in 1951 when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister.
There were no agenda papers, but Nehru took the view that the first census of independent India should not be caste-based.
This was revealed when a massive search was carried out in the cabinet secretariat archives after law minister Veerappa Moily wrote to Registrar General of India, asking whether there was a policy decision involved in not conducting a caste-based census.
Other than this informal meet of the cabinet, there are no records in the archives.
Union home minister P Chidambaram is reported to have apprised Moily of Nehru’s stand. Accordingly, C Chandramouli, registrar general and national census commissioner who is in charge of the 2011 census, is reported to have stated that “caste census is a matter of policy. Since 1951, the government’s policy decision is not to do a caste census. Unless the government changes its stand it won’t happen”.
Chidambaram brought the matter to the notice of prime minister Manmohan Singh as well. But PM decided to talk to his cabinet when it met to discuss the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Creation Bill. Chidambaram, being the home minister, did not express any view, but offered to assure members that caste could still be included in the census as its first phase will only include house listing, which precedes population enumeration.
The first phase of the census began on April 1 and would last for 6-8 months. In the phase, number of households, locations and other data will be gathered.
The second phase starting February-March 2011 will include population enumeration and gathering data on various socio-economic and demographic parameters.
