RELIGION ,CASTE ,AND CENSUS

The massive exercise of ‘Census of India 2011’ has commenced. The enumerators are visiting the households and are collecting various informations which will form the basis for planning for the future of the country. There is a demand and a move to collect the details of castes also. Every right thinking and nationalist citizen must ask whether we should continue to identify the Indians by their caste. The Supreme Court many a times has observed that dividing the society on caste and religious lines is not in the best interest of the nation. Unity of the country is at stake. In the past, India could be ruled by the outsiders like Muslims from the north western areas like Afghanistan and Christians from eastern areas like Europe as the Indian society then was very much divided on caste and clan lines.Now, therefore it is the appropriate time to abolish the caste and religion concept from all government records. The move by the great actor and nationalist Amitabh Bachchan to mention his religion/caste as ‘Bharatiya’ is laudable and worth emulating. Ex- minister Arif Mohammed Khan too has supported this move. Hence all the nationalist and right thinking citizens of India should consider mentioning their religion/caste as “Bharatiya” in the coming census.