Savarna voters are angry with the BJP for its caste census – but they have nowhere else to go

For nearly two years, social media activist Anuradha Tiwari has been criticising state governments, including those run by the Bharatiya Janata Party, that pursue social justice policies for the backward castes. But even then, she never thought that the BJP would one day end up endorsing the idea of a caste census.

“Upper castes have been their loyal vote bank,” she said, referring to the fact that the Hindutva party has historically enjoyed the support of communities such as Brahmins, Thakurs and Baniyas. “If they are going to increase reservations [in educational institutions and government jobs], this is definitely a betrayal. I won’t vote for them, for sure.”

Tiwari is not alone. The Modi government’s sudden announcement on April 30 stating that it would enumerate caste in the next Indian census surprised both its opponents and supporters.

Supporters of a caste census contend that members of the Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes have long been undercounted and that affirmative action quotas are smaller than they should be.

Scroll spoke to upper-caste activists and Hindutva leaders in four BJP-ruled states to gauge their response to the decision. All of them struggled to explain why the party was making a U-turn on an opposition demand that it...

Read more