Ongoing SC survey finds people from nomadic communities without even one govt. document
The survey of Scheduled Castes, currently under way in Karnataka to determine internal reservation, has also brought out the fact that a section of economically deprived population among the nomadic and semi-nomadic communities are subsisting without Aadhaar, below poverty line (BPL) cards, or EPIC issued by Election Commission, which are crucial for obtaining economic and educational benefits for their uplift.
There are 51 nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes among the Scheduled Castes, while there are 23 and 47 nomadic communities among the Scheduled Tribes and backward classes, respectively, in Karnataka.
'We are coming across cases where families do not have any sort of documentation. Since they are nomadic in nature, they keep moving from place to place. In many cases, parents have died young leaving their children without any documents,' said R.V. Chandrashekar of the Bengaluru-based National Law School of India University (NLSIU), who has been deputed to the commission headed by retired Judge H.N. Nagmohan Das.
The commission is monitoring the survey that will help in determining the reservation quota for Dalit (left), Dalit (right) and others, including nomadic/ semi-nomadic communities within the larger 17 % reservation for Scheduled Castes in the State.
'Since they are migratory in nature, these families lack address proof, which is crucial in getting any of the identity documents. The same problem could be there among the nomadic and semi-nomadic communities coming under STs and BCs,' he said.
High in some districts
The enumerators have particularly found such families in Tumakuru, Raichur, Kalaburagi and Mysuru districts. In one case, a boy belonging to Sudugadu Sidda community could not get Aadhaar enrolment because his school transfer certificate (TC), which he had carefully preserved, was not accepted as address proof, since he had crossed 18.
'In a nomadic settlement in Chikkanayakanhalli, of the 18 families, we found that two families did not have any kind of documents,' Mr. Chandrashekar said.
The commission has now decided to create a separate basket for such persons. The commission has decided to separately enumerate them when they are in the booth-level camp mode that is being held from May 26 to May 28.
'As far as possible, awareness has been created among such people to attend the camp for enumeration. Since those without documents cannot be brought into the door-to-door enumeration list, Mr. Nagamohan Das has directed for a separate basket to be created to account for them,' said a source in the commission.
Director at the Directorate of Electronic Delivery of Citizen Services (EDCS), R. Yathish, who oversees Aadhaar registration in Karnataka, said that those who did not have the document can enroll themselves even now and provide the 14-digit number during the survey.
'We will ascertain if the applicant is from Karnataka or not since those residing here are eligible to participate in the survey,' he said.
The EDCS has developed a crucial app for the survey that has caught the attention of the Centre, which is set to conduct the general census in 2026.
Numbers are small
'Even if one of the family members, especially the family head, has any one document, it is good enough to participate in the survey. Though we have come across families without documents, their numbers are not big,' he said.
The ongoing survey is identifying people belonging to about 186 Scheduled Castes communities and their sub-castes for documenting their socio, economic and educational status. So far, over 20 lakh families have been enumerated out of the projected 25.72 lakh Scheduled Castes households in the State.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
30 minutes ago
- Hans India
‘Visit My Masjid' fosters communal harmony
Hyderabad: The SC, ST, BC, Muslim Front organised the 'Visit My Masjid' programme at Masjid-e-Aliya in Gunfoundry on Sunday, under the banner 'Dalit Muslim ek dastarkhan pe lunch' (Dalit and Muslim together for lunch). The event was marked by communal harmony, open dialogue, and a powerful message of unity. Attendees and guests from various walks of life shared a meal together at the conclusion of the programme, reflecting a spirit of brotherhood. The speakers collectively emphasised the need for honesty, social harmony, and equality. They underscored that dishonesty at any level is detrimental and that everyone should contribute positively towards the betterment of society. The programme resonated with the timeless message of equality and justice, as reflected in the poetic lines – 'Ek hi saf mein khade ho gaye Mahmood-o-Ayaz, Na koi banda raha, na koi banda nawaz' — meaning, 'The king Mahmood and slave Ayaz stood shoulder to shoulder in the same row. No master, no slave remained; only equals in the eyes of the Divine.' The event was organised under the theme 'DNA Message Massavath', symbolising oneness, dignity, and togetherness beyond caste, class, and creed. Sanullah Khan (Chairman, SC, ST, BC, Muslim Front), Aziz Pasha (Former MP), Prof Dr Gali Vinod Kumar, Senior Advocate Masood Khan, Advocates D Padma Rao, Raj Lingam, Master J E Dr Kumar (BAMCEF), Prof Anwar Khan, Prof Islamuddin Mujahid, among others, were present.
India Today
32 minutes ago
- India Today
Bypoll Results 2025 Live: Counting of votes to begin at 8 am, security tightened at booths
Bypoll results 2025 Assembly Bypoll Result 2025 Live Updates: The counting of votes for bypolls in five assembly constituencies across four states, including two in Gujarat and one each in Bengal, Kerala and Punjab, will begin at 8 am. The bypolls were held on June 19, with the Nilambur constituency in Kerala recording the highest voter turnout at 73.26 per cent. The overall turnout went as high as 70 per cent. The by-elections in Kerala and Bengal are seen as precursor to the big assembly elections in both the states next year. In Bengal's Kaliganj, ruling Trinamool Congress is aiming to retain the seat, while the Nilambur seat in Kerala is seen as prestige battle for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as it falls under her Wayanad constituency. Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal's AAP is striving to keep the Ludhiana West seat in Punjab, and the BJP is hoping to break its 18-year jinx and win Gujarat's Visavadar seat. The Kadi seat in Gujarat could reveal the Dalit community's voting patterns in the region. Stay tuned at as we bring to you all latest updates. ...Read More 0
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Census must not only count women — it must count them properly
Numbers have always told stories: Of progress, pain, and power. But too often, they have also erased people at the margins. As the country prepares for its next Census, we must ask: Will we count women in a way that reflects their diversity and realities? Or will the most marginalised be once again statistically invisible and politically excluded? The passage of the Women's Reservation Bill — formally the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act — in September 2023 was a watershed moment. But its implementation has been delayed as it depends on the delimitation exercise, tied to the Census. This means that how we conduct the Census will shape not only who gets counted, but also who gets a seat at the table potentially for decades to come. Therefore, the upcoming Census is not just a statistical operation. It is a unique opportunity to shape the scaffolding for a more inclusive democracy. But for that to happen, it must be gender-responsive in design and execution. Over the past decade, I have witnessed firsthand how women in politics confront entrenched structural hurdles. Casual sexism within party ranks, lack of access to campaign finance, being ignored by the media, threats of violence — both online and physical — and being constantly overlooked by their respective political parties in ticket distribution for legislative seats. These challenges are magnified for women belonging to marginalised communities. Dalit, Adivasi, Muslim, queer, and disabled women, among others, face multiple and intersecting layers of discrimination. Simply reserving seats without addressing the ecosystem of exclusion will only reproduce inequalities in new forms. The Census will not only be about collecting sex-disaggregated data. It should recognise that women are not a monolith and ensure that questionnaires reflect that complexity. These are some steps that can be taken: Gender-data can be cross-tabulated with indicators for literacy, employment, land ownership, bodily abilities, religion, caste, etc; partnering with experts in gender and caste research, keeping in mind that caste and subcaste formations can also be regional in nature; building public data portals that allow civil society to filter, analyse, and visualise gender-aggregated data; most importantly, the enumerators should be trained in gender sensitivity. In 2011, the Census made a landmark move by including a separate 'other' gender category. But the enumeration process was poorly designed and inconsistently applied. This led to underreporting and misclassification of trans and non-binary persons. The next Census needs to correct this process of insensitivity and invisibilisation. Some may argue that implementing a robust, gender-responsive Census is too resource-intensive. Yet, without it, we risk implementing laws that are still rooted in the status quo. Applied to women's representation, it will replicate existing power structures, with privileged women at the helm. Once the Women's Reservation Act is enacted after a gender-responsive Census, we can monitor: If reserved seats across constituencies reflect the diversity of India's female population; if selection processes by political parties for reserved seats are evidence-backed, instead of being arbitrary; that there is a pipeline from panchayat to Parliament to prevent co-optation by elite women. These mechanisms would ensure that the policy is not tokenistic, and actually represents the women of India. Further, it will help us answer these critical questions: How do we ensure women from the Other Backward Classes are not overlooked in seat allocations? How will political parties be held accountable for fielding women candidates from SC and ST communities – not just in reserved constituencies, but also in general ones? Gender-disaggregated data would make visible those who are routinely ignored. And visibility matters because it seeds awareness, enables activism, and builds political pressure. A Census that fails to see women in all their lived realities is incomplete and unjust. The Census is a political mirror. But without gender-responsive tools, it offers only a distorted reflection. Every person counts in a representative democracy, and every woman must be counted where it matters most: In our legislatures, policies, and collective future. Because women are not just half the population — we are half the potential. And it's high time India sees us that way. The writer is the founder of Femme First Foundation and the lead author of The Fifteen: The Lives and Times of the Women in India's Constituent Assembly
