SC status to dalit Muslims might wait for some time: petitioners

By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: UPA government has done it again. It was the 8th extension, which the Central government sought for the hearing of a PIL lodged in Supreme Court, for inclusion of Dalit Muslims in Scheduled Caste category, by Akhil Maharastra Khatik Samaj (AMKS).

Representing the government side, Gopal Subramanyam, solicitor general of India, told the apex court that the government needs some more time to take a stand on this whole issue, particularly now when Ranganath Mishra Commission has submitted its report, recommending SC status to the Dalit Muslims.

To inform our readers, the National Commission on Religious & Linguistic Minorities or Ranganath Mishra Commission, as it is popularly called, headed by Justice Ranganath Mishra, former Chief Justice of India, submitted it’s Report to the Prime Minister on 22 May, 2007.

The Ranganath Mishra Commission report has recommended the government to delink religion for the consideration of SC status and to make Schedule Caste net as religion neutral.

Reportedly the government counsel said that the proposal is yet to be discussed by the concerned high power Group of Ministers (GoM) which is Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA).

Talking to TwoCircles.net, Shamsuddin Kadir from the legal cell of AMKS pointed out that, “It has been quite a journey for us in our decade old fight to get SC status to dalit Muslims. After 8 extensions and delays the situation now is that, it is the extreme and climax of the case. The UPA government is just adopting the delay tactics, which is the easiest way out when you don’t want to do any thing. In the next hearing we will request the apex court not to give further time to the government.”

The actual petition was filed by AMKS on 25th January 2008 but in spite of the delays and 8 extensions he sees some positives developments about the case.

“There used to be a time when no body used to turn up from the government side. It is a positive path breaking achievement for this case that the government has responded to our petition.”

He is also hopeful that the government doesn’t have much option but to give dalit Muslims Schedule Caste status.

“One day it has to include dalit Muslims into SC category because its own Commission, in the form of Ranganath Mishra Commission has recommended it and constitutional body like National Commission for Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe has cleared it. So there is nothing it can put against the proposal, besides what has been happening with dalit Muslims is completely unconstitutional. That is why it is very clear for the apex court to see that it is out and out unconstitutional. ”

Akhil Maharastra Khatik Samaj (AMKS) is not alone in fighting for this, Franklin Xaviers along with center for Public Interest Litigation, had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court, way back in March 2004, for the dalit Christians and Muslims to be included in Schedule Caste category. Their side is represented by well known human rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

The story with their PIL is the same as that of AMKS. Their next hearing is on 15th of July. Franklin who is the second petitioner in this case, told this correspondent, that they will request the apex court not to give further time to the government and insist for an immediate reply from the government.

Many believe that government might be delaying because of political considerations. But Franklin has solution for that also.

“If legal means is not enough and the government wants political campaigning then for that we have called for a nation wide rally on July 21, 2010, to express the urgency and gravity of Christians’ Muslims’ and secular-minded peoples’ for the just demand for the SC status to dalit Muslims and Christians.”

He pointed out that, this rally is expected to be attended by more than 15,000 dalit Christians and dalit Muslims. Political leaders like D Raja, Brinda Karat, Ali Anwar prominent among others, are expected to address this rally.

What is the problem and why Dalit minorities need to be given SC status?

As far as the issue of SC status to Dalit Muslims and Christians is concerned, from 1935 to 1950, all Dalit irrespective of their religion, were provided with reservations. However, on January 26, 1950 when constitution of India came into force, an order was passed by the then president of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, which denied SC status to Dalit of any community other than Hindu.

The third paragraph of the order said, “notwithstanding anything contained in para 2, no person who professes a religion different from Hinduism shall be deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Castes.”

Now the problem with this presidential order was that it was against, many provisions enshrined in the constitution, like Equality before the law (Article 14), Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion (Article 15) and Freedom to profess and practice any religion (Article 25).

That is why probably, there were two amendments first in 1956 and second in 1990 in the Constitution and Sikhs and Buddhists respectively were included in the Scheduled Caste category and thus they were allowed to avail the benefits of reservation.

Dalit Muslims

Across the country there are around 35 castes of Indian dalit Muslims which include Nutt, Bakkho, Khatik, Bhatiyara, Kunjra, Dhunia, Kalal, Dafali, Halakhor, Dhobi, Gorkan, Meershikar, Rangrz, Darji, Mochis, Mukris and Garudis etc.

Their condition is worse than any other community in India, a fact which was proved by the Sacchar Committee report. SC status to Dalit Muslims has been overdue for a long time now, because it’s not only that they have been a part of the same profession but it is also a fact, that they have been going through the same social discrimination as their counterpart Dalit Hindus.

Many social scientist point towards increasingly good condition of Dalit Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, and for which they give credit to the reservation, they enjoy because of their SC status.

Source:
http://twocircles.net/2010jul11/sc_status_dalit_muslims_might_wait_some_time_petitioners.html

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Hearing in Supreme Court for the inclusion of Dalit Muslim Tomorrow

Mumbai: Supreme Court hearing of writ civil petition 13/2008 which was lodged by Akhil Maharashtra Muslim Kahtik Samaj for the inclusion of Dalit Muslims in scheduled caste is scheduled on 09-07-2010. We have a great hope this time and expecting that court will take some concrete action in order to restore justice and provide dalit muslims with scheduled castes status which is denied since decades.

Read more about this PIL:
http://www.pasmandamuslims.com/2009/09/pil-in-supreme-court-for-dalit-muslims.html

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Educational Deprivation of Muslims: Revisiting Sachar Report

By Shahidur Rashid Talukdar,

The condition of Muslims in India is pitiable. As it has been documented by the Sachar Committee Report (SCR), Muslims are virtually lagging behind all other communities and a trend of relative deterioration is observed in almost all spheres of day-to-day life. Especially in the field of education, the situation is of grave concern.

Muslims literacy

While the overall literacy rate in India is above 65%, the literacy rate of Muslims is around 59%. However, on extending the consideration beyond mere literacy rate, Muslims fall far behind others. Where, in general, 26% of those aged 17 years and above have completed matriculation, this percentage is only 17% amongst Muslims. The Mean Years of Schooling among children of age group of 7- 16 years is lowest among Muslims at around 3.4 years whereas for others it is above 5 years. According to the 2001 Census data, while only about 7 per cent of the overall population aged 20 years and above are graduates or hold diplomas, this proportion is less than 4 per cent amongst Muslims. Besides, those having technical education at the appropriate ages (18 years and above) are as low as one per cent and amongst Muslims, that is almost non-existent.

NSSO survey confirms Sachar

It was hoped that the scenario might change with time but unfortunately, the trend does not look very optimistic. What Sachar Committee Report (SCR) had found out has recently been reconfirmed by the NSSO survey report titled Education in India (2007-08): Participation and Expenditure. One of the findings of the report is that Muslims still are the most backward section in terms of education. Percentage distribution of persons of age 5-29 years by current enrollment and attendance status in educational institutions for each religion shows that the Muslim community with an enrollment of 46.2% lags behind all other communities while Christians lead the trend with an enrollment of 58.3%. This might not give the actual state of affairs since it pertains to only the sample surveyed but it indeed shows the trend.

Another such distribution shows that at the primary level Muslims start with an above average enrollment but the rate falls quickly below average at the upper primary level and the trend continues up to the post higher secondary level. Although every community experiences a decline in the enrollment ratio as one goes up to the higher classes but the decline is the steepest in case of Muslims. This means, the community loses its grip right at the primary level. The highest drop-out rate accounts for the steepest fall in enrollment at the next level i.e. the Upper Primary level and hence in the secondary and all subsequent levels.

Muslims in school education

The SCR explicitly recognizes that attainment of Muslims in school education is lower than average and the gap between Muslims and other communities increases as the level of education increases. Further, a comparison of the probability estimates for completion of higher secondary and graduation suggests that Muslims are at a much larger disadvantage at the higher secondary level. This presumably results in a much lower size of Muslim population eligible for higher education. These findings not only establish that there is little empowerment of Muslims but also discards even the misconception regarding minority appeasement.

The reasons for this alarming situation of the Muslim community’s educational progress has been enumerated by the SCR as Poverty — considered as the Main Cause of Low levels of Education, Poor Access to Schools, Low Perceived Returns from Education, and other School-based Factors. While poverty among Muslims is explicit, the other factors deserve further elaboration. A mere physical existence of a school in the vicinity does not ensure access to quality education. As the report admits, Government schools that do exist in Muslim neighborhoods are merely centers of low quality education for the poor and marginalized. The poor quality of teaching, learning, absentee teachers, in turn, necessitate high cost inputs like private tuition, particularly in the case of first generation learners from the Muslim community. This has a negative impact on retention and school completion. Thus, poverty again has a causal link with access to education among Muslims.

Low expectation of return from attending schools is another factor for lack of motivation towards education. Since the community does not see a lot of Muslims youths becoming successful by virtue of going to school, it apparently does not promise much of immediate return to people who rather pay attention to vocations that pay an earlier return. This happens due to abysmally low representation of Muslims in public and private sector jobs.

Another very important reason is the content of the school books which usually escapes the attention. The SCR points out that the “communal” content of school textbooks, as well as, the school ethos has been a major cause for concern for Muslims in some states. This is disconcerting for the school going Muslim child who finds a complete absence of any representation of her Community in the school text ultimately developing a sense of unbelongingness to the system.

Discrimination against Muslims at schools

One more, very crucial and most unfortunate, problem is that many schools are culturally hostile and Muslim students experience an atmosphere of marginalization and discrimination. A growing communal mindset among large number of school teachers adds to the ‘hostile’ school atmosphere. Furthermore, the report argues that, contrary to popular perception that religious conservatism among Muslims somehow militates against educating girls, current research indicates that poverty and financial constraints are the major causes that prevent Muslim girls from accessing ‘modern’/'secular’ education.

The report reiterates that Muslim women often face overt discrimination from school authorities while trying to get admission or in availing of scholarships for their children. Perceptions of public security — partly associated with increasing incidents of communal violence — prevent parents from sending daughters to schools located at a distance where they would have to use public transport. This is particularly the case when they reach upper primary and middle school and leads to high drop out rates among Muslim girls in this age group. How unfortunate is that for a democracy like India? Is not it barbaric that someone grows in the society with anxiety and fear of communal violence? How can one expect such a generation to be good citizens with equal respect for all? Such developments, deliberate or inadvertent, not only question India's credentials as a secular democracy but also cast doubt over the future prospect of becoming one.

The report also points out that there are systematic discriminatory policies against Urdu –as a language. Since Urdu is no longer taught in most state schools some parents prefer not to send their daughters to schools in stead they send them to Madarsas.

Low presence at Jawahar Navoday Vidyalayas

A special case of the Jawahar Navoday Vidyalayas (JNVs) is another eye opener. If poverty alone were responsible for low participation and attainment, the share of Muslims students in Navoday Vidayalayas should have been high but for some reasons this too, is extremely low at just about 3 to 4 %. The schools which were set up with “the objective of excellence, coupled with equity and social justice” also failed to draw participation of the largest religious minority. But why? Is it a failure of the Institutions to reach the community and address its needs and aspirations or is it a failure of the community to make use of the provision? What are the reasons for this failure?

One reason could be the lack of awareness and hence low level of interest. From a general understanding, the aforesaid factors like abject state of poverty – which restricts children to meet the eligibility requirement of the JNVs, low expectation from education, fear of being discriminated, poorly designed course content could provide some of the reasons. Further, is there any myth/misconception surrounding the schools about any religious or cultural affiliation that the community feels uncomfortable about just like the Tamils could not welcome the idea of JNVs because of compulsory Hindi? In order to have a better and a deeper understanding of the dynamics, there needs to be a detailed study.

Suggestions to reduce educational deprivation of Muslims

An impartial analysis of the ground realities depicts that the poor performance of Muslims in education emanates from a host of factors starting from abject poverty and communal/cultural discrimination to poorly designed course contents. So in order make the Indian education system more inclusive, the issues need to be addressed explicitly. A general attempt of setting up schools in the Muslim majority areas or providing scholarships to some students may not promise a substantial amelioration of the situation.

As the problem is complicated, so will be the solution. The mainstreaming and improving the plight of minorities stands as a challenge to Muslims as a community and the Government (s) as the state. Muslims as a community, will have to bear their share of the burden by actively engaging themselves to the discussion as to what are the reasons behind their poor participation and performance, what could be solutions, how they could be implemented. Muslim leadership and Civil societies must become pro-active rather than maintaining a reactive stance.

The government must provide a platform for equitable participation and inclusive growth. First of all, creating sufficient awareness about various existing facilities, schemes and programs is very important. Affirmative actions to address the serious issue need to be undertaken. Considering the gravity of the situation, a constitutional amendment may become necessary to provide justice to the religious minorities who are suffering because of the constitutional discrimination against Muslims. Muslims being as backward as SCs/STs, are not getting the benefits of reservations simply because their religious identity. So, this issue needs to be given due consideration so that reservation can be extended to Muslims like any other community.

Seeing the under-participation of the community, it becomes imperative to provide reservations at all levels of education just as SC/STs are given. It becomes even more important at the primary, secondary, higher secondary levels since these form the foundation for higher education. Thus, the government should allocate at least 10% of the seats in existing Navoday Vidyalayas, the 3500 Model Schools to be set up under the directives of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) declared in April 2010, and any other similar public institutions.

The logic in favor of such reservation is that these schools operate pretty much from entry levels. The intervention point being a very early one, students are less like to have developed a mediocrity which becomes a problem at a higher level when reservation is given at universities, IITs, IIMs etc. So if a student is given admission, then the subsequent progress will be determined by the average standard of the schools. In general, any student, irrespective of her religious identity, should have a similar level of performance in such schools where the students have minimal stakes with the ills of society like poverty, discrimination, alienation, etc.

To develop interest and affiliation to the schools in the community, the nomenclature might carry some significance. Just like Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Hamdard, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, etc., a Muslim sounding name of the school may invoke a higher degree of interest from the community. Out of 3500 Model Schools, if some of the schools that would be located in predominantly Muslim areas, 350 schools for instance, are named after any Muslim leader or Freedom Fighter, then this is likely to draw the attention of the Muslims and boost their participation, at least to some extent.

Another integrative measure will be to recruit Muslim teachers in the schools. In the absence of Muslim teachers, the students from Muslim community may feel alienated in the school, as it has been pointed out in the SCR. Induction of 10 to 15% Muslim teachers and a good proportion of female teachers will not only encourage Muslims students, especially Muslim Girls, to attend and continue schooling but will also promote equity and justice in employment and hence will address the economic and gender disparity.

Besides introducing Urdu as a language option, the general content of the language courses may be modified to accommodate writing of prominent Muslim authors. Inclusion of topics or chapters appreciating the Muslim/Islamic values will enhance level of interest among Muslim students and at the same time will enable the non-Muslim students to develop a better understanding and hence a more respectable view of the community. Inclusion of a chapter on Al-Khwarizmi, Ibn-Khaldun, etc. will highlight the contribution of Muslim scholars which is hardly to be found otherwise. A story about CV Raman may be complemented by another story about Abdus Salam.

Literature apart, in a mathematics and science text books short paragraphs about where a topic or a chapter came from like the definition of zero from Indians, and the number system from Arabs, and similar description or discussion about topics highlighting the contributions of Hindu, Muslim or other scholars will enhance the level of interest of all the children from all communities. An unbiased body of scholars from the NCERT can be entrusted to carry out the necessary research and then such modifications can be incorporated which will create a balance between contributions from various communities. Of course, in such an endeavor it will be highly required that the scholars themselves are not biased towards any particular religion or community. Otherwise, the situation will become worse as it was the case a few years ago, when the NCERT history books were deliberately saffronized.

Source:
http://twocircles.net

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Caste in Census: Hypocrites all!

By P N V NAIR

We can tell a person’s caste from his name. Upper caste Hindus mostly use the caste as their surname. As long as this practice continues, people will be known by their caste name and not their first name. This writer, for example, is known as Mr Nair among friends and colleagues, though my first name is Viswanathan. Years ago when I was with the Indian Express, someone from my village came to Bombay and called up the office asking for Viswanathan. The telephone operator told him that there was no one in the office by that name. This applies to most Indians, they go by the surname Reddy, Rao, Iyer, Iyengar, Mehta, Shah, Desai, Sardesai, Chakravarty, Choudhary, Chaturvedi, Goswami, Nair, Menon, Pillai and so on. It gives them an identity and they are proud of their caste, too. When it comes to a debate on the abolition of caste, all are hypocrites. Most columnists and news channel Editors vehemently argue against reintroducing caste in Census. But those who abhor the caste system do not want to drop their caste-based surname first to prove their genuine concern. Even Gandhiji did not do it though he had championed the cause of the Harijans and the downtrodden. Caste makes a person inferior or superior, caste determines an individual’s place in society, the work he or she may carry out, and who he or she may marry and meet. A person is enabled or disabled at birth and one cannot change his low birth though he can change his destinies through education and hard work. But the fact remains, a Nair’s son becomes a Nair and a Dalit’s son inherits his father’s caste.

A controversy has erupted over the inclusion of caste in the 2011 Census, after a long gap of 60 years. The colonial practice of caste-based headcount was discontinued after independence. All government records, registers and application forms also deleted the column of caste. One of the major objectives of Independent India was to remove the disabilities arising out of this social malady. But then, did the caste system disappear? On the contrary there are violent agitations for more reservations based on caste. More and more communities are fighting for their inclusion under lower castes and backward classes in order to enjoy the benefits of reservation. With the result, some states like Tamil Nadu has 70 per cent reservation though the Supreme Court has limited this to 50 per cent.

The Census, first conducted in 1881 by the British, collected caste-wise data until 1931. While the Census continues to count scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, OBCs have not been enumerated for 80 years. Parties with strong OBC constituencies argue that this leads to wrong data on their numbers and consequently affects their entitlement. The Census over the years provides vital information on population and its relative characteristics in terms of sex, age groups, economic activity, occupation, literacy, language, religion, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and a host of demographic features.

Though India’s Constitution has sought to abolish caste discrimination and the practice of untouchability, the caste system is still widespread and remains deeply rooted in the society, especially in rural India. A Dalit’s shadow was believed to pollute the upper classes. They may not cross the line dividing their part of the village from that occupied by upper classes, drink water from public wells, or visit the same temples visited by the higher castes. Dalit children were often made to sit in the back rows in classrooms! Things are changing, but the lower castes are not treated on par with the upper class even now. In my village there is a Bhagwati temple. Even today, only people belonging to the Nair community worship in the temple. There is no bar on others, but their inferior complex dissuades them from entering the temple. This applies to most of the temples in Kerala.

The caste system is not restricted to Hinduism alone. It is prevalent among Christians and Muslims as well. Christians in Kerala are divided into several sects, the main sects being Syrian Christians, Latin Christians, Protestants, Jacobites, Marthomites, CSI (Church of South India), etc. Syrian Christians consider themselves superior to others. They were believed to be converted from Brahmins, other upper castes and Jews by St Thomas, while Latin Christians were converted mainly from lower castes where fishing was the traditional occupation. Latin converts were poor and deprived. So the Government of India gave them the social benefit of OBC status. Anthropologists have noted that the caste hierarchy among Christians in Kerala was much more polarised than the Hindu practices. They would not enter into marriage alliances without the permission of their respective church authorities. In Goa, mass conversions were carried out by Portuguese Latin missionaries. The Hindu converts retained their caste practices, thus the original Hindu Brahmins in Goa now became Christian Bamons and the Kshtriyas became Christian noblemen called Chardos. The Dalits or untouchables who converted to Christianity became Mahars and Chamars. Though Jesus Christ took everybody by his stride without differences, Christian Dalits suffer discrimination from the higher castes.

Among Muslims, there are Sunnis, Shias, Boris, Iranis and so on. The rivalry between the Sunnis and Shias is known throughout the Muslim world. Those who are referred to as Ashrafs are presumed to have a superior status derived from their foreign ancestry, while the Ajlafs are assumed to be converts from Hinduism, and have a lower status. There is also the Arzal caste regarded as the equivalent of untouchables. There is a demand to accommodate the Muslim Dalits in the quota given to the SCs. The Sachar Committee on the plight of Muslims too has recognised that there are Dalits in the Muslim community.

Under the Constitution, caste discrimination and the practice of untouchability are prohibited. According to K Kanakasabapathy, Director, EPW Research Foundation, though Caste in census was discontinued, the report of the first Backward Classes Commission in 1955, in fact, recommended caste-wise enumeration of the population in the Census of 1961 and treatment of “caste as the criteria” to determine backwardness. It had prepared a list of 2,399 backward castes, of which 837 had been classified as the “most backward.” This report was not accepted, as it was feared that the really needy would be swamped by the multitude and would not receive special attention. The Second Backward Classes Commission, using the 1931 Census data of the British, estimated that 54 per cent of the total population (excluding SCs and STs) belonging to 3,743 different castes and communities were backward.

The objection to Caste Census is that it will push back the country to the dark ages. The electoral politics has blinded the three Yadav leaders – Mulayam, Lalu and Sharad – who argue that their flock, the OBCs, would be entitled to more reservations in employment and educational institutions after the Census. Critics believe that the government has succumbed to pressure from the Yadav trio for its survival. Poverty is not confined to the OBCs. In a country where 40 per cent people earn less than a dollar, the concerted effort of the political parties should be how to salvage people from the deplorable economic conditions in which they are stuck. It is time to change the basis of reservation from caste to poverty. The criterion should not be caste but how much a person earns.

On the positive side, the question is why do we have to omit the OBCs alone in the Census. The Census covers all the religions, the SCs and STs, and the vast number of OBCs are deliberately left out unidentified for whatever reasons. By doing so, we were, of course, open to manipulation, corruption and dishonest representation. The new data collected from the Census may never be perfect; people tend to misrepresent the caste and their income. Actual caste data could shed light on how backward some of the OBC classes are. The data might reflect that inter-cast gaps in education, occupation and access to infrastructure are far greater than we think. By avoiding caste details in the Census, we are not eliminating it.

Source:
http://www.fnbnews.com

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Rise of India’s caste warrior

Even as caste continues to puzzle and infuriate many, caste-based organizations show remarkable resilience, promote philanthropy

Pallavi Singh

Dubai, Ghaziabad: Caste is most often seen through the prism of conflict—the heated national debates about reservations, the political polarization on the census and the attacks on young couples that have been blessed by caste panchayats.

But far away from the spotlight, there is the more benign world of organizations and activists who continue to nurture informal networks based on caste, to help fledgeling businesses, build educational institutions and promote philanthropy.

Consider the case of Avneesh Dahiya.

Dahiya owes his three-year journey from Bhojpur, a small village about 187km from New Delhi, to the National Capital Region (NCR), to the commitment of one man to use personal success to help other members of his caste.

Yashpal Malik is a real estate developer from the Jat community who made it big in the Capital. When Malik began the construction of Vasundhara Plaza in Ghaziabad, the shopping complex where Dahiya now runs a busy Mother Dairy outlet, he visited Bhojpur as the convenor of a series of workshops on caste-based reservation for the Jat community.

Malik, also national president of All India Jat Arakshan Samiti (AIJAS), a caste-based outfit demanding recognition of Jats as Other Backward Castes (OBC) at the national level, met Dahiya in 2007.

“What do you do?” he asked Dahiya, who had already spent more than three decades in the village, landless and jobless. With Jats rallying to demand reservations for their community, AIJAS had just been formed, and Malik invited Dahiya to join.

In order to help a fellow Jat, Malik also helped Dahiya procure a licence to run the dairy outlet and waived the rent for the shop. The dairy helped Dahiya meet two fond aspirations: to earn a livelihood and send his children to college.

Caste continues to puzzle and infuriate many modernizers, but the institution has survived and changed in the six decades after independence even as it continues to whip up passions that can split most political parties down the middle.

But away from the heated arguments whether the government should ask citizens details about their caste, the institution itself has shown remarkable resilience and acts as a magnet for identity and philanthropy.

Yashpal Malik is a real estate developer from the Jat community who made it big in the Capital. When Malik began the construction of Vasundhara Plaza in Ghaziabad, the shopping complex where Dahiya now runs a busy Mother Dairy outlet, he visited Bhojpur as the convenor of a series of workshops on caste-based reservation for the Jat community.

Malik, also national president of All India Jat Arakshan Samiti (AIJAS), a caste-based outfit demanding recognition of Jats as Other Backward Castes (OBC) at the national level, met Dahiya in 2007.

“What do you do?” he asked Dahiya, who had already spent more than three decades in the village, landless and jobless. With Jats rallying to demand reservations for their community, AIJAS had just been formed, and Malik invited Dahiya to join.

In order to help a fellow Jat, Malik also helped Dahiya procure a licence to run the dairy outlet and waived the rent for the shop. The dairy helped Dahiya meet two fond aspirations: to earn a livelihood and send his children to college.

Caste continues to puzzle and infuriate many modernizers, but the institution has survived and changed in the six decades after independence even as it continues to whip up passions that can split most political parties down the middle.

But away from the heated arguments whether the government should ask citizens details about their caste, the institution itself has shown remarkable resilience and acts as a magnet for identity and philanthropy.

And while the government struggles with the issue of caste-based headcount, caste organizations carry on their work under the national radar, even as officials at these outfits draw a subtle line between caste organizations and casteist politics on the one hand and worry about the failure to attract young members on the other.

Malik’s focus, for example, is not just Masscon India Pvt. Ltd, the real estate firm of which he is the managing director. As a leader of AIJAS, Malik says he finds his true calling. “The business is important because it helps you make money, but AIJAS is what takes the money where it truly belongs—back to the community.”

Malik is a caste leader, of sorts. His caste outfit and business firm collectively serve the community in two ways: while AIJAS helps needy people from his community who approach him, Masscon becomes the employment generator.

Since the company was set up in 2000, it has recruited around 40 people from the Jat community as office staff alone.

Sociologists view the rise of caste-based organizations as an after-effect of post-Mandal politics in India, the period after 1989 when the Indian government introduced 27% reservation for OBCs in government jobs. “Caste remained unattended before that. Prior to Mandal, there was no reason for individual backward castes to be assertive at the national level. Post-Mandal, caste-based organizations are using caste as an effective instrument of community building and its social and financial upliftment,” Anand Kumar, professor of sociology at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, says.

While there are no hard numbers to measure the spread and appeal of such caste organizations, a search on the Internet throws hundreds of names of such outfits with regularly updated websites. While most of them claim extensive membership, many admit that finding issues relevant to the youth of their communities is a big challenge these days.

The Chitragupta Kalyan Sangathan, an organization for Kayasthas, who are traditionally known as the caste of the account keepers, in Delhi’s Shahdara, has a helpline for jobs and marriages. The small office tucked away in an old dilapidated building is remarkable because it has no staff, except a peon and a typist to answer the telephone, no photocopier and no conference room. “We do most of the work in the field,” its convenor Santok Saxena says. “We have a large community pool of lawyers, financial planners and bankers. Whenever someone needs us, we offer guidance and relevant contacts.”

The Kayastha Mahasabha in Mumbai helps entrepreneurs start their own ventures. “We help them in securing bank loans from our contacts, because it is very difficult for a new entrepreneur to get loans. Sometimes we act as guarantors as well,” says Pramod Srivastava, convenor of the organization.

Over the years though, organizations admit much of their appeal has waned.

“What we do is very traditional, such as organize mass marriages and religious festivals, which don’t attract the youth of our community. While forward castes are capable of financial means to dispense with, there is lack of unity,” says Praveen Sharma, secretary of the Brahman Samaj Sanstha in Delhi.

Sociologist Anand Kumar says unlike the backward caste organizations, associations of forward castes today are on the defensive owing to the rise of OBCs. “They are suffering downward mobility. In the 1950s, they were 70% in elected positions. Now, it is down to 30%. In the changed situation of coalition politics, they are adjusting and have no individual identity,” he points out.

At the same time, analysts feel that the caste organizations’ co-option into politics and vice-versa has led to trivialization of the groups’ roles such as their activities remaining limited to distributing medals and organizing dinners to community members.

Some of the examples of this co-option, where caste groups made way for political voices, are the Bharatiya Lok Dal, which was led by Jat leader Chaudhary Charan Singh in Uttar Pradesh, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal led by Lalu Prasad in Bihar, which acted as growth engines of caste-based politics in India.

Sometime in 2005, the decadence was visible through several small, unorganized protests in Delhi. As Amar Chauhan, a member of the Gujjar community, seen as a rivals of Jats, and a postgraduate student of sociology at Delhi University, recalls, hundreds of volunteers from the community agitated over a little black stone plaque on National Highway 24 in east Delhi. “The plaque was put up after the road was renamed after noted Gujjar leader Mihir Bhoj and generated a lot of heat as it later became invisible due to plantation of trees and road construction,” Chauhan says. “This was sad enough. As if we had no issues to raise any more.”

Ajay Navariya, Dalit writer and assistant professor at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi says caste organizations got politicized after independence and expected the government to provide for everything. “They have lost sight of more pertinent issues at hand and have become victims of casteist politics,” he adds.

About 40km away from Delhi on National Highway 58, Choudhary Chhotu Ram Girls’ Inter College (CCRGC) in Duhai is perhaps a near-perfect example of what may have gone wrong with social work centred around caste and community welfare in the last six decades.

Since 1946 when Jat leader Chaudhary Mukhtiar Singh set up the school for girls’ education, the village of Duhai hasn’t seen the establishment of any other institution of higher education by a member of the community. Around the time the college was founded, the western Uttar Pradesh belt, particularly Muzaffarnagar, saw a spurt in schools and colleges set up by Jat businessmen and leaders.

Since then, the pace of educational work slowed only to stop completely in the 1980s, say educationists.

In his rhetoric on the diminishing role of caste-based organizations in social welfare, Sunil Chowdhary, manager of CCRGC, is quick to lash out at caste-based politics, especially by parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in north India. “Earlier, caste-based organizations were set up to work for social uplift. After the 1980s, almost each one of them rallied with a political outfit to assert themselves politically,” Chowdhary says. “There was a time when even Jat leaders like Choudhary Charan Singh laid foundation of a degree college by Gujjars. Is it possible today?”

Listening intently to the entire debate, Balbir Singh, manager of BR Ambedkar Primary School in Duhai, where he has been providing free education to children of the scheduled castes, differs. “They (caste groups) at least organize our struggle through a forum and raise a collective voice for our causes,” he argues.

Inside Chowdhary’s office, dark and humid without electricity, Singh—with his greying hair and tense forehead—is suddenly agitated by the debate. Slowly, the gathering grows to half a dozen people in the room. Someone quotes example of caste groups in Gujarat, which set up orphanages, rest houses, old-age homes and colleges for the community.

Kantaben Kamdar Charitable Trust and Jhaverchand Manekchand Trust of the Saurashtra Khadayta caste, or the trader caste, for example, contributes around Rs30,000 every month to support 42 families in the villages of Junagadh in Gujarat.

For what little Singh has known, this doesn’t happen in his world. “There are hardly any such groups which work for lower rungs of their communities,” he says.

His concerns are not entirely unfounded. The Ambedkar Samaj Sudhar Samiti (or Ambedkar Social Reform Committee), founded by him, often ends up facing resistance from upper caste groups for the work they do: opposing child marriages, untouchability and manual scavenging.

Eleven years ago, he, then unmarried, even picked up a girl child from the streets and brought her home after police refused to find a shelter despite his repeated reports. “Well, what would you have done?” he asks.

Priyanka P. Narain contributed to this story.

Source:
http://www.livemint.com

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Identity enumeration and statistical systems

By Sukhadeo Thorat

The system of statistical data collection in India needs reform in order to meet actual requirements.

The use of individual-focussed policies for the economic empowerment of the poor, along with group-specific policies for discriminated groups such as the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), women and Muslims to reduce inter-personal and inter-group disparities in human development, has been the hallmark of India's pro-poor policies. However, demands for group-specific policies have been on the rise in recent times. These include demands for reservation by OBCs, SCs and STs in the private sector, and for women in Parliament. There have also been similar demands by Dalit Muslims and Christians, de-notified and nomadic tribes and the sub-castes among the SCs.

Given that only a limited amount of data is available on these groups from the Census and National Sample Survey (NSS) exercises, the government has sought to rely on committees, commissions and sponsored studies to deal with new demands for data and information. For instance, in the context of the demand for reservation in the private sector, the government sought information through sponsored studies. With respect to Muslims, the Sachar Committee used Census and NSS data on a selective basis. A National Commission was set up to put together information on de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes. For sub-castes within the SCs, the Usha Mehra Committee was set up. The National Commission on Religious and Linguistic Minorities dealt with the issue of Dalit Muslims and Christians. These are some examples of the government dealing with data requirements with respect to various groups.

The instruments of committees and commissions, however, have their limitations. They cannot cover all the relevant aspects, and theirs being one-time exercises they have limitations in studying any changes. Therefore, notwithstanding the commendable work done by some committees and commissions, due to insufficient data the understanding of the problems with regard to social groups is inadequate, and this constrains the government's capacity to develop evidence-based policies. Comprehensive data systems on the relevant aspects of various groups enable the government to develop focussed policies. Therefore, the statistical system that currently comprises the population Census, the NSS, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the Economic Census and others needs reform, so that data are gathered on all aspects at regular intervals on the relevant castes, tribes, de-notified and semi-and nomadic tribes, religious minorities, women, and castes within the religious groups. This is essential to gauge the extent of inter-group inequities in terms of asset ownership, employment in the public sector and the private sector, education, housing, health, and other aspects.

Group-wise data on the relevant indicators help in two ways. First and foremost, disaggregated data provide insights into the problems of each group and help overcome group-specific constraints through appropriate policies. It helps governments to deal with unjustified demands for reservation, if the problems that the group face are of a general nature and do not arise from discrimination. Secondly it helps trace the impact of policies and enable decisions with regard to their continuation or discontinuation. A system of disaggregated data also enables governments to make decisions that are evidence-based, transparent, and open, and strengthen the government's capacity to deal with politically motivated demands.

Two concerns have been expressed about the generation of data that are disaggregated in terms of caste, religion and similar categories. The first is that caste-tribe-religion wise data may cause them to be used for political ends. The second concern is that they may consolidate rather than reduce consciousness around identity in terms of caste and religion. These fears are not borne out by experience; if anything, the experience is to the contrary.

First, we must know that the present statistical system comprising the population Census, the NSS, the NFHS and others generates data for SCs, STs, OBCs, religious groups and women on a selective basis. The government itself had put restrictions on the release of NSS data on SCs, STs, OBCs and religious groups. However, it took a bold decision in January 1999 to allow access to all of unit-level NSS data for research purposes. This decision indeed encouraged high-quality research which brought insights into existing patterns of inter-group inequities between low and high castes, minority and majority groups and tribal and non-tribal groups in terms of selected indicators. These insights helped governments to develop policies for Muslims and OBCs.

The findings have not resulted in any caste, ethnic or religious divide. Revelations made by the Sachar Committee about the status of Muslims have not induced any religious divide. On the contrary, they have helped develop a consensus for Muslim-focussed policies. Similarly, NSS data provided insights into the problems of the OBCs and Dalits among Christians and Muslims. Caste-wise census of OBCs by States including Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has not induced any caste divide. Instead, these brought in transparency and helped governments to make unbiased policy decisions. It is a different matter that political parties hold different views about finding solutions to problems facing the OBCs and Muslims.

The second argument that disaggregated data in terms of caste and religion might be used for political ends is based on an inadequate understanding of the political decision-making process that exists in India. The scope for using caste and religious data for political ends is more if the boundaries of ignorance are wide. Data reduce the capacity of the party in power to take decisions that are contrary to facts. In fact, they strengthen the hands of the government to take evidence-based decisions and resist any unreasonable demands made by certain groups. In a democratic set-up, transparency in information enables political parties in power and in the Opposition to deal with policy issues with openness and to minimise the risk of data being used for wrong political ends.

Indian society is characterised by the presence of multiple deprived groups whose problems are common in some respects but different in many ways. In such a context, gathering relevant data disaggregated in terms of caste, ethnic and nomadic group, gender and religion is a basic step needed to ensure transparent policies, programme designing, effective targeting and programme evaluation. However, generating reliable data is something you have to be cautious about. Lessons from India and from other countries indicate that in order to avoid the pitfalls of self-reporting census data, combining it with more detailed information from household surveys on a sample basis can be employed to reduce biases and measurement errors. India has five-yearly NSS surveys to supplement data gathered from the Census operations, and Sample Registration System (SRS) data gathered on two-yearly basis. The NSS and the SRS can help bring about corrections in Census data, if necessary, for the relevant indicators. But this issue can be addressed separately. What is important is to reform the Indian statistical system in order to meet the data requirements on relevant castes, tribes, religious and other groups to frame necessary group-specific policies.

(Sukhadeo Thorat, a Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, is now the Chairman of the University Grants Commission.)

Source:
http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article450108.ece

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Translation of a Telugu poem expressing the pain of pasmanda muslims

Awwal Kalima

You won't believe us

but no one's talking about our problems

now, again, it's the tenth or eleventh generation scions

of those who lost glories

who are speaking for all of us.

Is this what they call the loot of experience?!


In reality, Nawab, Muslim, Saaheb, Turk-

whoever's called by those names belongs to those classes-

those who lost power, jagirs, nawabi and patel splendours

they have retained, at least, traces of those honours

while our lives have always been caged between our limbs and our bellies.

We never had anything to save.

What would we have to recount….?

We who called our mothers 'amma'

never knew she was to be called 'Ammijaan'.

Abba, Abbajaan, Papa- that's how fathers are to be called, we're told

How would we know- our ayyas never taught us that.

Haveli, chardiwar, khilwat, purdah-

how could we of the thatched palaces know about them?

To perform Namaaz is to bow and rise, my grandfather said!

The language of Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem, Allahu Akbar, Roza-

we never learnt all that.


A festival meant rice and pickle for us

Biryanis, fried meats, pilaus and sheer khormas for you

You in Sherwanis, Rumi topis, Salim Shahi shoes

and dresses soaked in itr

We, resplendent in our old rags.



You won't believe us if we tell you

and we might end up only embarrassing ourselves.



Scentusaabu, Uddandu, Dastagiri, Naagulu, China Adaam,

Laaloo, Pedamaula, Chinamaula, Sheik Srinivasu,

Bethamcharla Moinu, Paatikatta Malsooru- aren't these our names.



Sheikh, Syed, Pathan- flaunting the glories of your khandaans

did you ever let us come closer to you!

Laddaf, Dudekula, Kasab, Pinjari…

we remained relics of the time when our work bit us as caste.

We became 'Binishtis' carrying water to your homes

and 'Dhobis' and 'Dhobans' who washed your clothes,

'Hajaams' when we cut your hair

and 'Mehtars, Mehtaranis' when we cleaned your toilets

as relics of the age when our work bit us as caste

we remained.



As you say, we're all 'Mussalmans'!

We don't disagree- but what about this discrimination?



We like it too- if these excavations will unearth those accounts

which had remained buried for long, why would we object!

What more do we need to know about the common enemy,

we need to discover the secret of this common friendship now!

We agree: all those who are oppressed are Dalits,

but we need to define what's oppression now!



Surprise- the language we know isn't ours, we're told!

We don't know the language you call ours

We've ended up as a people without a mother tongue.

Cast out for speaking Telugu.

'You speak good Telugu despite being a Mussalman'

Should I laugh or cry!



All our dreams are Telugu, our tears are Telugu too

when we cry out in hunger, or in pain

all our expression is Telugu!



We stood clueless when asked to perform Namaaz

jumped up in surprise when we heard the Azaans.

We searched for only ragas in the Suras.

When told to worship in a language we didn't know

we lost the right to the bliss of worship.



You won't believe us,

no one's talking about our problems.



Self respect is a 'dastarkhan' spread before everyone.

It isn't a privilege that belongs only to the high born.

No matter who belittles a fellow man's honour, betrayal's betrayal



the loot of experience is a bigger betrayal.



Translation of the Telugu poem 'Awwal Kalima' by Yakoob (from his 2002 book of poetry 'sarihaddu rEkha'). Translated by Kuffir Nalgundwar
http://roundtableindia.co.in/lit-blogs/blog/2010/05/06/awwal-kalima/

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Who Is Afraid Of Caste Census And Why?

By S.R.Darapuri I.P.S. (Retd)

The Indian government had to succumb to the political pressure to agree for Caste Census at the end of the last budget session of the Parliament. It was demanded by almost all the political parties which it found difficult to put aside. This demand was raised earlier also by some political parties but was just ignored by the ruling party. But this time the pressure was so overwhelming that the government had no alternative but to agree to the popular demand.

The Supreme Curt of India and some High Courts had off and on asked for the basis of the quantum of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) which the government lacked on account of absence of proper population data for these classes. Some attempts were made by some States to ascertain the population figure for OBCs but it was contested by the opponents of reservation. Kaka Kalelkar and Mandal Commission had evolved criterion for ascertaining the population of OBCs. National Backward Classes Commission was instituted to ascertain the list of the Castes to be classified under this category for reservation in Central Government appointments. Similarly State Backward Commissions were also instituted to prepare such lists for reservation in State level appointments. It is a fact that Central and State lists differ in content.

At the national level the population of OBCs has been accepted as 52% of the total population of the country and reservation to the extent of 27% has been made for them in Central Government posts. This was the outcome of the implementation of Mandal Commission Report in 1990. The matter went to the Supreme Court of India and it was held to be constitutionally valid. The matter again came up before the apex Court when the Central Government decided to give reservation to OBCs in Higher Education and Technical Institutions. The question regarding the basis of the quantum of reservation was again raised by the Court. The Court again directed the Central Government to come up with reliable figures of OBCs population but the Government lacked such data.

Apart from the above there has been a regular demand from various organizations and political parties especially those with Backward Classes predominance for Caste based Census but it was just brushed aside by the ruling party may it be BJP or Congress. This demand was raised during 2001 Census also and the then NDA government did not entertain this request. But this time the pressure was so high that Congress government could not afford to put it aside and it had to agree to the Caste count during 2011 Census.

The announcement for Caste count during 2011 Census has given rise to a big row among its supporters and opponents. One of the major objections against the Caste Census is that it will give impetus to Caste divisions and its perpetuation in society. The other objection is regarding the operational difficulty in ascertaining the correctness of the caste claimed by a person as there is no such final list available with the Census authorities.

It is true that the last Caste based Census was conducted in 1931 by the then British authorities and then it was discontinued. In post independence period no attempt was made to go for Caste count as the government was not prepared to take up this work. No doubt Caste Census is done regularly to ascertain the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to fix up their quota of reservation in services and in political reservation in Parliament and State Assemblies which is invariably in proportion to their population. The 52% figure of OBC population has been arrived at on the basis of their population in 1931 Census which is also disputed by the OBCs and higher castes as well. So now it has become necessary to ascertain afresh the population figure of the OBCs and 2011 Census is the most appropriate occasion for it.
Now let us take up the first objection to Caste Census regarding impetus to caste division and its perpetuation. In this context it will be quite apt to recall the observations made by Sir J.H.Hutton who was the Census Commissioner during 1931 Census. In Chapter XII, ‘Caste, Tribe and Race’ in the section titled ‘The Return of Caste’ he observed,” A certain amount of criticism has been directed at the Census for taking any note at all of caste. It has been alleged that the mere act of labeling persons as belonging to a caste tends to perpetuate the system. It is, however, difficult to see why the record of a fact that actually exists should lend to stabilize that existence. It is just as easy to argue and with at least as much truth, that it is impossible to get rid of any institution by ignoring its existence like a proverbial ostrich.” This observation made by Hutton holds good against the arguments put forth by the opponents of Caste Census.

As regards operational problems in Caste count, Hutton also talks of the practical problems evolved. “Experience at this Census has shown very clearly the difficulty of getting a correct return of castes and likewise the difficulty of interpreting it for Census purposes,” he says. Hutton writes about how people used the Census to move up the social order, as a vehicle for what the latter-day sociologists call ‘Sanskritisation.’ To illustrate his point, Hutton quotes from a report of the Superintendent of Census operations for Madras. “For example, an extremely dark individual pursuing the occupation of waterman on the Coorg border described his Caste as Suryavamsa, the family of the Sun.”
No doubt similar difficulties may arise during this Census also but it will be of the opposite nature. During 1931 Census it was a scramble for up gradation of one’s Caste but this time it may be ‘Desanskritisation.’ i.e. down grading of Caste. In the post Mandal quota era various castes may scramble for downgrading their castes to get into the OBC list. The struggle of the Gujjars for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes list is a recent example of the ensuing trend. Similarly land owning Jat Caste of Uttar Pradesh has been included in State OBC list by BJP for political reasons.

The opponents of the Caste census tend to give the impression that the caste has ceased to exist and Census will make it raise its head again. But if you look at the matrimonial advertisements in the news papers you will find that not only caste but sub caste is most important for matrimony. It fully demolishes the above premise of the opponents of Caste Census. In fact Caste is a not only thriving but kicking also. It is a social reality which determines one’s social status and the limits of the social relations and also opportunities for advancement in the life of an individual.

After independence we have adopted a system of planned development which requires a correct data of our population and the extent of social, educational and economic backwardness. It is a fact that in India class and caste are almost congruent. The Castes which are socially and educationally backward are invariably economically backward also. Thus for proper planning, the strength of target groups must be known correctly which can be ascertained through Caste based Census only.

Actually higher Castes are allergic to the Caste Census because it will expose their low numbers and the share of development and national wealth they have usurped at the cost of lower Castes. Their fear is further accentuated by the probable high number of OBCs who are bound to demand a greater share in services and benefits of development and national wealth. That is why higher Castes are afraid of Caste Census.

Courtesy:
Countercurrents.org

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Muslim representation in Civil Services – An Analysis

By M Naushad Ansari,

Among 875 selected candidates, this year, 21 are Muslims. Last year, out of 791 selected candidates, 31 were Muslims. Hence, from around 4% in 2009 the Muslims’ selection in the Civil Services Examination, popularly known as IAS exams, has come down to around 2.5%. Only remarkable achievement this year is that the topper is a Muslim, Shah Faesal, coming from Kashmir.

Before Faesal, the IAS topper from the community was Amir Subhani of Bihar in the year 1987. Jawed Usmani of UP was IAS topper in 1977. Syed Shahabuddin, ex-Member of Parliament and, presently, the President of All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, was the first Muslim from Bihar to get second rank in civil services exam in 1958. That was then the highest rank a Muslim got since Independence. In 2001 Shahla Nigar, also from Bihar, became the first Muslim woman to get second rank, the highest ever in 50 years for a Muslim woman.

Many of the analysts are observing that since the percentage of Muslim graduates works out to be nearly four per cent, their selection is not much below this ratio. This analysis is based on half-truth, illogical, misleading and totally wrong notions. There is also an attempt to dilute the demand of Muslims' reservation in government services by convincing the people that graduates among them happen to be lower, hence lower representation. Scientifically, until the proportion of non-Muslim graduates is taken into account, a logical analysis cannot be carried out.

According to Sachar Committee Report, the proportion of Muslim graduates, during 2004-05 was 3.4 per cent. Among the 'General Hindus' it was found to be 15.3 per cent, among 'SC/ST Hindus' it was 2.2 per cent, among 'OBC Hindus' it was 4.4 per cent and among 'other minorities' it was 8.9 per cent. In short, roughly 7.7 per cent of non Muslims were found to be graduates as against 3.4 per cent among Muslims. (Page 67, Sachar Committee Report)

We don’t have detailed data on the above social sections. However, one can broadly conclude that this 7.7 per cent of non-Muslim graduates could corner 96 per cent and 97.5 per cent of seats in the Civil Services Examination in the year 2009 and 2010 respectively, leaving 4 per cent and 2.5 per cent for Muslims in the respective years. That means the ratio of success among non-Muslim graduates was more than twelve times of the ratio of graduates among them, whereas, for the Muslims it was almost at par.

Therefore, to analyse the issue of gross under-representation of Muslims in the Civil Services, the whole issue needs to be studied in to-to. Hence, the reasons for under-representation are not only those that meet our eyes!

(Naushad Ansari could be contacted on ruby.naushad@gmail.com)

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ENSURE ENROLLMENT IN CENSUS 2011: AMP APPEALS

As The national wide census 2011 has already begun from 1st April 2010. The Census of India 2011 is being conducted in two phases, namely i) Houselisting and Housing Census and ii) Population Enumeration. The census 2011 will help decide number of BPL people in 2013. If anyone fails to get into the databank he will be out of UIDAI which is an indirect proof of ‘citizenship’ for every individual.

Hence ASSOCIATION OF MUSLIM PROFESSIONALS (AMP) appeals to all Citizens in General and Muslims in Particular to actively involve themselves in the Process of the CENSUS 2011 as it is very important owing to its linkage to NPR, Unique Ids, BPL Data, and National Identity Card.

Each and every household will be given an Acknowledgement Slip at the time of enumeration which has to be saved carefully for further use. Biometrics such as photograph, 10 fingerprints and probably Iris information will be added for all persons aged 15 years and above. Details such as Name, Date of Birth, Sex, Present Address, Permanent Address, Names of Father, Mother and Spouse etc will be gathered by visiting each and every household. Each household will be required to bring the Acknowledgement Slip to camps arranged at every village and at the ward level. Those who miss these camps will be given the opportunity to present themselves at permanent NPR Centres to be set up at the Tehsil/Town level.

The National Population Register (NPR) would have the data of every person enumerated during the Census operations irrespective of age. It would also have the biometric data and UID Number of every person of age 15 years and above. National Identity Cards will be given in a phased manner to all usual residents by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India.

What am I supposed to do?

• Be Present at the Time of the Visit of the Enumerator
• Give Clear answers for all listed questions
• Do not UNDERSTATE or OVERSTATE things
• Ensure if the data provided is properly entered
• Sign the Sheet after verifying the data,
• Receive the acknowledgment slip and save it
• When announced those with 15 years and above Visit the Biometric data collection Camps along with the acknowledgment slip and enroll yourself in the NPR Biometric Data Register.

Whom do I contact in case my house is not covered?

The local Tehsildar/Ward Officer of your area is the designated officer. In case of need you can also contact the Collector/DC/DM of your District or the Commissioner of your Town. You can also intimate Census officials over email or contact them over the toll free number given in this website ( http://www.censusindia.gov.in).

How do I ensure that the information given by me is being correctly entered?

The NPR form has to be signed by you. In case you require, ask the Enumerator to read it out to you and then affix your signature/thumb impression. In any case do ascertain that the details are correctly entered. Important fields to check include Spellings, Nationality and Dates of Birth etc.

How people working abroad will be registered in National Population Register?

This is a Register of Usual Residents. If a person is staying at a particular place for 6 months in the past one-year or intends to stay there for at least 6 months in the future, they will be covered. Hence NRIs Should be effectively Included as they would return within the Slated Period.

General Instructions:-

1. No documentary support for the statement is necessary
2. Backward Muslims should make use of column OBC/SC/ST and choose OBC option. No documents need to be produced.
3. For non residents-Their name should be included as either as code 1 or code 2.
4. The families should ensure presence at home during the census and must rearrange any trip during this period; if they miss out they should contact the Concerned Officers.
5. Must check and verify the form which is filled by enumerators. No room should be given to dishonest manipulators who are doing a disservice to the nation by incorrect data entry.


The dates on which Census is being conducted in various States/Union Territories is given below:

Date of commencement	States /UTs
1st April to 15th May, 2010	New Delhi (NDMC area), West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, A & N Islands, Goa, Meghalaya
7th April to 22nd May, 2010	Kerala, Lakshadweep, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim
15th April to 31st May, 2010	Karnataka, Arunachal, Chandigarh
21st April to 4th June, 2010	Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu
26th April to 10th June, 2010	Tripura, Andhra Pradesh
1st May 15th June, 2010	Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Punjab, Uttaranchal, Maharashtra
7th May to 22nd June, 2010	Madhya Pradesh
15th May to 30th June, 2010	J & K, Manipur, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh
1st June to 15th July, 2010	Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Himachal Pradesh (non synchronous), Nagaland

Association of Muslim Professionals

www.ampindia.org

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