Karnataka caste survey: BJP’s propaganda, HC order and conspiracies within the govt

In Karnataka, the Social and Educational survey to identify the Backwards Classes has finally begun, despite the consistent and conspiratorial opposition from the BJP and JD(S), as well as the dominant castes within the Congress.

The BJP, which has openly taken leadership of this crusade against the survey, is putting forward several deceptive arguments to justify its opposition, which is in fact aimed at retaining the status quo of hegemony of dominant castes. 

The primary argument of the camp is that the government is actually conducting a census in the guise of a survey, for which it has no constitutional mandate, since a census is part of the Union list (entry 69, of List 1 in the Seventh Schedule). The underlying argument is that the Congress government wants to divide the dominant and consolidated castes into sub castes, thereby breaking the dominant castes' numerical and political strength. 

This is nothing but part of the Sangh Parivar’s long-term agenda: politically, to take away all residual powers of the states and concentrate them with the Union as part of its strategy to convert federal India into a Unitary State; socially, to perpetuate the brahminical social order unchallenged.