Caste survey will do no good, will aggravate inequality: RSS
Agreeing that caste-based discrimination has existed for ages, the senior RSS functionary said a “caste census can only deepen the rift”.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) does not support the demand of a nationwide caste census, its functionary Shridhar Ghadge said on Tuesday, adding that caste-based enumeration would exacerbate societal inequalities in the country.

Ghadge, who is the head of RSS’s Vidarbha unit, was addressing Maharashtra ministers and legislators from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena during their visit to the organisation’s Smruti Mandir campus on Tuesday morning.
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“We do not see any benefits in it [caste census], instead only harm. It is the root of inequality and we have a clear stand that there should be no inequality, enmity or quarrel,” Ghadge told the visiting BJP and Shiv Sena members of legislative assembly and legislative council.
He, however, added that the RSS is ready to engage with the government if the latter could adequately explain the benefits of a caste census. “RSS has been promoting social equality. In our country, there are schisms in the name of caste. If caste is the root of inequality in society, the RSS believes it should not be further aggravated by actions like a caste-based census,” he said.
Agreeing that caste-based discrimination has existed for ages and would take time to be entirely eradicated, the senior RSS functionary said a “caste census can only deepen the rift”.
A demand for caste-based enumeration across the country has been aggressively put forth by the Congress-led opposition parties, which hope it could precipitate a second Mandal moment, a reference to the implementation of reservation for other backward classes in early 1990s that coalesced OBCs into a potent electoral bloc and sparked the rise of a clutch of regional parties that changed the face of heartland politics.
The opposition INDIA bloc has also pushed for a nationwide caste census, hoping it could pose a challenge to the BJP, and fracture its rainbow Hindu coalition, especially among marginalised castes. The opposition’s demand gained momentum in the run-up to the latest round of assembly polls in five states and particularly after the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar released the findings of the caste-based survey carried out in the state.
Union home minister Amit Shah had last month said that the BJP has never opposed the idea of caste census, but a decision in this regard would be taken after proper thought.
“We don’t [seek] vote on the OBC issue since we are a national political party. We will discuss with everyone and whatever will be appropriate we will tell, but fighting elections on this issue is not correct... and the BJP never opposed,” Shah had told reporters in Raipur on November 3.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale were not present in Nagpur during the BJP and Shiv Sena legislators’ visit to Smruti Mandir. Both chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also gave the meeting, invited by the BJP, a miss.
Interestingly, no member of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction visited the RSS campus despite being part of the tri-party ruling alliance, Mahayuti. “It is the prerogative of every party on whether to visit a particular place or not. While the NCP received an invitation from the BJP, no one from our side attended,” NCP MLC Amol Mitkari said.
Ghadge also clarified that the annual visit is voluntary, with no formal invitation being extended by the RSS.
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Reacting to the Ghadge’s remarks, senior Congress leader and former CM Ashok Chavan told reporters: “A caste-based census will give a clear picture of the numbers of every community and help distribute social welfare benefits. It will also clear the picture on the reservation situation.”
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said: “Those who oppose caste census are essentially opposed to just and fair distribution of wealth and opportunities. Let the RSS first have a Dalit as its head and then pontificate on caste.”
