Imagine you are with a group of friends and a stranger comes along. You are introduced to him by one of your friends. Soon, he asks you where you work, where you live etc.
You have no problems with it but then he asks you what your caste is, would you definitely not feel angry, embarrassed and find it to be an extremely awkward situation?
The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes is conducting a ‘caste census’ that began on September 22.
The exercise uses a 60-question questionnaire and there have been many objections raised regarding the ‘personal nature’ of the questions being asked.
Against this backdrop, Karnataka Deputy CM Shivakumar has asked people to participate in the survey and said he had asked the Commission not to ask questions that were ‘personal’ in nature.
Stating that he had himself participated in the survey, he revealed that he refused to answer five such questions.
In India, what can be more personal than caste? That is the most ‘sensitive’ question of all compared to a household’s income and demography and other things.
Yet, in India, that is the tool that has kept society both united and fragmented over generations, a tool that is indispensable for politicians with both good and bad intentions.
