Telangana’s First Caste Survey: A Bold Step for OBC Empowerment

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy shared on Wednesday that Telangana is the first state in India to do a caste survey. This idea was inspired by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Reddy mentioned that the last caste survey in India was done in 1931, during British rule. He celebrated this moment, saying it shows how the Congress party’s ideas can turn into actions, even when they are not in power.

Reddy said they are proud of Telangana’s efforts to help backward classes (OBCs) and that these steps have inspired the whole country. He thanked the central government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for deciding to include caste counting in the upcoming national census.

In Telangana’s Social, Economic, and Caste Survey, they found that over half (56.32%) of the people belong to backward castes. Based on these results, Reddy announced a 42% reservation for OBCs in education, jobs, and politics.

He also noted that the Telangana Congress protested in Delhi, asking the central government to conduct a caste census. Recently, the central government confirmed that they would include caste counting in the census in a clear way. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explained that while the census is managed by the central government, many states have already done caste surveys for political reasons and assured that their census would be open and fair.

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said caste counting is very important and has been a long-standing request from many groups. He highlighted the need for clear data on the backwardness of Muslims, mentioning that they often face economic and educational struggles. Owaisi also pointed out that the BJP has been against giving special rights to Dalit Muslims and should now be honest about this issue. He finished by thanking Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for leading the successful caste survey in Telangana.