In Karnataka, the Social and Educational survey to identify the Backwards Classes has finally begun, despite the consistent and conspiratorial opposition from the BJP and JD(S), as well as the dominant castes within the Congress.

The BJP, which has openly taken leadership of this crusade against the survey, is putting forward several deceptive arguments to justify its opposition, which is in fact aimed at retaining the status quo of hegemony of dominant castes. 

The primary argument of the camp is that the government is actually conducting a census in the guise of a survey, for which it has no constitutional mandate, since a census is part of the Union list (entry 69, of List 1 in the Seventh Schedule). The underlying argument is that the Congress government wants to divide the dominant and consolidated castes into sub castes, thereby breaking the dominant castes' numerical and political strength. 

This is nothing but part of the Sangh Parivar’s long-term agenda: politically, to take away all residual powers of the states and concentrate them with the Union as part of its strategy to convert federal India into a Unitary State; socially, to perpetuate the brahminical social order unchallenged.

With this goal, in 2018, the Modi government passed the 102nd Constitutional Amendment, snatching away the states’ power to identify backward classes and design targeted schemes to address backwardness. That power was transferred to the centrally controlled NCBC (National Commission for Backwards Classes).

But this amendment faced strong opposition even from the BJP’s state units, NDA allies, and opposition parties. The Supreme Court too (CA 3123/2020) held that this was against the federal structure of the Constitution and centralises the power in the hands of the centre.

Thus, the Modi government was compelled to correct itself. In 2021, it introduced the 105th Amendment.

Through this, the Union retained the power to maintain a central list of Backward Classes, while giving back states the authority to identify and prepare a state list of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes within their jurisdiction.

Although this was only a correction of the blunder caused by the 102nd Amendment, the BJP shamelessly propagated that the 105th Amendment was proof of its commitment to cooperative federalism.

Now, as the Congress government in Karnataka begins its caste census, the BJP is once again raising the claim that states have no authority to conduct such a survey. Their proxies and the dominant caste associations of the state have filed a Writ Petition in the High Court (WP 28671/2025), demanding a stay order on the ongoing survey, repeal of the Karnataka........

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