Falling Over Caste
Will the demand for a caste census have a long-term impact ? Indian politics is known for its fascination with the caste. Political parties in India have often played with the innate characteristics of caste to secure their vote banks. The zenith was reached in 1990 when the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government implemented the Mandal Commission report to extend a 27%. reservation for OBCs in government jobs, apart from the already existing 15% for SCs and 7% for STs. The adverse after-effects were catapulted to nationwide protest by the self-immolation of a student from Delhi that created much uproar. The entire episode tended towards a tectonic shift in Indian politics and threw up several leaders in national politics who played with caste. To ride over the tide of caste politics, and appease the upper caste vote bank among Hindus, BJP’s iconic leader, L.K. Advani embarked on his ‘Ram Rath Yatra’, calling for a resurgence of ‘Hindutva’ sentiments. His manoeuvre was instrumental in uplif...