Karnataka Government Kicks Off Census of Scheduled Castes for Internal Reservations

Bengaluru: On Monday, the Congress-led government in Karnataka officially began the census of Scheduled Caste (SC) groups across the state, marking a crucial step in implementing internal reservations in line with the Supreme Court’s directives.

In a press conference at the Vidhana Soudha, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah emphasized the significance of this initiative, stating, “As announced in our election manifesto, we are committed to implementing internal reservation. In this direction, we have taken a significant step starting today.”

The project, known as the ‘Comprehensive Survey of Scheduled Castes – 2025’, aims to collect specific data on the SC population to facilitate internal reservations based on empirical evidence. The state government has entrusted this responsibility to the Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das Commission, which will provide detailed reports regarding the community’s population.

The census will be conducted in three phases:

Phase 1: A door-to-door census, which began on Monday and will continue until May 17.

Phase 2: Special camps will be organized from May 19 to May 21 to gather further data.

Phase 3: People will have the opportunity to provide details online from May 19 to May 23.

CM Siddaramaiah also clarified that under Article 341 of the Constitution, 101 castes are recognized as belonging to the SC category, which includes communities such as Korama, Koracha, and others. However, he pointed out that the government lacked empirical data on these communities, which had previously been based on outdated information from the 2011 census.

“The Justice Sadashiva Commission had earlier given the report based on the data of the 2011 census. However, the Supreme Court later stated on August 1, 2024, that there was a need for internal reservation and granted power to the states in this regard,” CM Siddaramaiah explained.

He further mentioned that the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission had submitted an interim report on internal reservation, recommending that the government acquire specific empirical data regarding various subgroups within the SC community. “We must clearly know how many people belong to the Adi Dravida, Adi Karnataka, and Adi Andhra communities. It is important to scientifically determine the numbers in Left-Hand and Right-Hand subgroups,” he added.