The Karnataka government says the survey will help indicate whether the benefits of reservations have reached those that they are intended for.
Some enumerators conducting a mammoth survey in Karnataka are having a few problems getting their questionnaires filled. A few people don't know when they joined school, others don't know when they got married and yet others couldn't figure out their annual income.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who took part in the survey today, had no such problems. His answer to the question about whether he's currently working: "Yes, I am working as Chief Minister"
The survey to determine the socio-economic progress of each caste in Karnataka, began last Saturday. For the survey, more than 130,000 enumerators are scheduled to visit as many as 1.2 crore households in a mere 20 days. They will ask householders 55 questions, ranging from what their income is, to what sub-caste they belong to. Many of the enumerators are school teachers who are working during their summer vacation.
The Karnataka government says the survey will indicate whether the benefits of reservations have reached those that they are intended for. Mr. Siddaramaiah said the survey wasn't about caste alone, but also about social and economic development. "Just because the census is on the basis of caste, it doesn't mean we are against the creation of a casteless society," he said.
Still, some enumerators aren't even convinced that what they're doing is useful. "For caste and all we can't give that much importance and I don't think it's needed," says Maria.
H. Kantharaj, Chairman of Karnataka's Backward Classes Commission, says he agrees with the Indian constitution that advocates a casteless society. "But caste is a real fact in society today. See, we also know that the caste is our enemy. But to remove the enemy from our society, first we must know who is our enemy," Mr. Kanthraj told NDTV.