Regressive pursuit?

The Indian National Congress (INC) has taken a rather unusual path to counter the BJP in poll-bound Karnataka, by raising the demand for caste-based census. The demand for caste-based census is not a strange phenomenon in India but, to date, mostly the Dravidian parties in the south and the socialist parties in the north have been using this poll plank. The Congress by and large maintained a distance. It is interesting to ponder upon the potential trigger points that nudged the national party to take this route. In the first place, caste-based distributive politics has a time-tested poll appeal, and caste in Karnataka, like in many other states, is a major driving force. Secondly, Rahul Gandhi’s Modi surname remark has more and less put him on the radar of OBC communities. In fact, in response to BJP’s retaliation citing derogatory reference to OBCs, some of the Congress leaders retaliated by questioning BJP’s concerns for the OBC community by asking why it has not come up with the OBC data. Rahul Gandhi’s repeated emphasis on caste census can also be contextualised around the recent reshuffle of quotas in the state — wherein Muslims’ four per cent quota was scrapped and divided between Vokkaligas and Lingayats under newly created categories of 2C and 2D, respectively. BJP’s quick move to gain the support of Vokkaligas and Panchamasalis, however, didn’t yield the desired results. The reasons could be that Panchamasalis — a politically crucial subsect of Lingayats — had far greater expectations than a mere upshot of two per cent. Leaders belonging to Panchamasali subsect also rejected the reshuffle, saying that they do not believe in snatching from one community for the benefit of another. The prevailing sense of dissatisfaction was perhaps considered by the INC, as Rahul Gandhi is also demanding for the removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservation. More importantly, he is trying to consolidate his appeal among backward classes by demanding that the quota for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes be “proportionate to their population.” There is no doubt that the Congress is playing big cards with significant potential, but the possibility of those cards yielding the desired outcomes is plagued by more than one hurdle. The caste card is not just about the issues raised, but also about the loyalty of particular castes to specific parties — a loyalty that takes years and decades to take shape, and is based on the consistent actions, or at least an illusion of the same, of the parties. There are parties across the country that secure guaranteed votes along the caste lines. Neither the INC enjoys such caste loyalty nor it seems to be acting accordingly to gain one. At present, the Congress’ attempt to lure OBC voters appears fragile. At best, it can just act as an insignificant fuel to the dissatisfaction prevailing among certain communities. If only the INC manages to match its rhetoric with concrete actions on the ground, can it register some gains on this front. Apart from individual gains for the party, the INC’s demand for caste census is also being seen as the emergence of a common poll plank ahead of the general elections. How this pans out can only be answered by time. One thing is certain, the BJP is less likely to sit quiet on this front. The Congress’ bid appears to be an attempt to create compartments in BJP’s combined Hindutva vote base. The race to lure the politically vital OBCs and backward communities can, however, lead India away from the vision of casteless society. Caste is, undoubtedly, a sickening reality in India. Once it gets even greater legal and political sanctioning through extensive quotas, India may transgress a little more on this front, irreversibly. The race between political parties will become a pursuit for survival, where they simply can’t stop and keep running without gaining much. Furthermore, history is evidence that whenever there has been a push for distributive caste politics, a social unrest follows automatically. Political compulsions notwithstanding, the race for claiming caste-based votes is a regressive pursuit.