Karnataka Caste Census Report Bats For Hiking OBC Reservation From 32% To 51%

The Karnataka caste census report which was presented before a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday recommended increasing reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) from 32 per cent to 51 per cent.

In 2020, the Karnataka government headed by the BJP appointed Jayaprakash Hegde as the chief of the caste census commission, but the report was not made public. Mr Hegde submitted the final report to the Siddaramaiah government in February 2024.

The Jayaprakash Hegde commission also recommended restructuring the classification within the OBC categories, according to the report.

The Siddaramaiah government will take a decision on the commission's recommendations on April 17.

Instead of the current Category 1, the report recommended creating Category 1A and Category 1B:

Category 1A: 6 per cent reservation

Category 1B: 12 per cent reservation

Category 2A: 10 per cent reservation

Category 2B: 8 per cent reservation

Category 3A: 7 per cent reservation

Category 3B: 8 per cent reservation

These changes are aimed at ensuring more precise and equitable distribution of reservations, according to the report.

Currently, the reservation structure in Karnataka is:

Category 1:  4 per cent

Category 2A: 15 per cent

Category 2B: 4 per cent

Category 3A: 4 per cent

Category 3B: 5 per cent

Scheduled Castes (SC): 17.15 per cent

Scheduled Tribes (ST): 6.95 per cent

Economically Weaker Section (EWS): 10 per cent

Total reservation: 66 per cent

The Jayaprakash Hegde commission recommended a reclassification based on occupation and social condition. Some castes currently in Category 1 will be moved to Category 1A based on occupational criteria.

Certain communities from Category 1 and 2A will be reclassified into Category 1B based on the current social conditions.

The categorisation is based on skills, nomadic lifestyle, and traditional occupation such as artisan and caste-based professions.

The caste-wise population data from the census report is:

Total population covered in the caste survey: 5,98,14,942

SC population: 1,09,29,347

ST population: 42,81,289

Category 1A: 34,96,638

Category 1B: 73,92,313

Category 2A: 77,78,209

Category 2B: 75,25,880

Category 3A: 72,99,577

Category 3B: 81,37,536

The report was submitted to the state cabinet in more than 46 volumes. Data on various aspects of the caste survey was recorded in two CDs and given to the government.

In 2014, during his first tenure as chief minister, Siddaramaiah ordered the Karnataka Socio-Economic and Educational Census. A committee headed by the then Backward Classes Commission Chairman H Kantharaju did the survey at a cost of around Rs 169 crore. The report was ready by 2016; it was, however, put in cold storage by subsequent governments.

The Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy and the BJP government headed by BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai also kept the report pending.

Opposition parties, the BJP and JD(S) have opposed the implementation of the report. Major caste groups, such as the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, alleged the report has done injustice to them in terms of their population representation.

Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka assembly R Ashoka said on Friday the caste census report prepared by the Siddaramaiah government was not scientific.

"The people conducting the caste census did not visit every household. This report was prepared under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's instructions. Since it has political motives, no one will accept it. I, too, am saying that a caste census should be conducted. But this report was designed to sow discord among castes for someone's benefit," Mr Ashoka said.

Siddaramaiah in February said the caste census was conducted scientifically and his government would implement it without any doubt.

"Our government supports the caste census. We have accepted the caste census report and will certainly implement it in the coming days. There is no need for any doubt regarding this," he said.