For Equal Distribution of Wealth, if the Master Key is handed over to the right political party that believes in equal distribution of wealth among all sections of the society, for their welfare and happiness and ultimate peace, the problem will come to an end. MAY YOU BE EVER HAPPY, WELL AND SECURE MAY YOU LIVE LONG MAY ALL SENTIENT AND NON-SENTIENT BEINGS BE EVER HAPPY MAY YOU BE ALWAYS HAVE CALM, QUIET, ALERT,ATTENTIVE AND EQUANIMITY MIND WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING THAT NOTHING IS PERMANENT
________________________________ From: Siddhartha Kumar <mailsiddharth...@gmail.com> To: zestcaste <zestcaste@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sat, 3 July, 2010 5:20:33 PM Subject: [ZESTCaste] Caste count hits sub-quota hurdle http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Caste-count-hits-sub-quota-hurdle/articleshow/6121166.cms Caste count hits sub-quota hurdle TNN, Jul 3, 2010, 03.57am IST NEW DELHI: The proposal to include caste in the ongoing census seems to have hit a serious hurdle with concern being expressed that the exercise may not only set off jostling for quotas among sub-castes but may not be effective in changing the overall constitutional ceiling on reservation. As the government gets down to considering the cost-benefit of a caste enumeration, fuller implications of conceding the demand led by powerful OBC lobbies are being considered. The political agendas at work may not only be contentious, but prove to be unworkable as well. One of unsaid arguments behind the census demand is that a truer count of backward castes would establish claims for a greater share of the reservation pie. This means that caste enumeration may lead to political demands that the current Supreme Court-mandated 50% cap on quotas be breached in the future. Well-placed sources said the argument was flawed as even if the popular claim of OBCs accounting for 52% of the population -- though some surveys peg it at less -- was actually exceeded, it may not translate into an expanded quota. This was because the SC ruling was now part of the basic structure of the Constitution and not open to being amended by Parliament. The group of ministers (GoM) on enumerating caste on Thursday saw the point being made that caste numbers were not going lead to backward empowerment in the manner in which some votaries of the proposal felt it would. What would be the purpose of a caste count if the quota aspirations were going to prove to be non-starters, it was pointed out. A cautionary note was also held out on the sub-caste counts that would be a result of changing the census process. The sub-categorisation of backward and other castes could see demands for proportional representation. This would mean competing claims for entitlements on the basis of quotas within quotas, something the government may not be comfortable with. It is understood that none of the ministers who expressed their views were unequivocal in supporting a caste census though law minister M Veerappa Moily, a strong votary of the proposal, attended the GoM meeting briefly. Even ministers who spoke in favour of the move pointed to the political commitment of the government rather than the merits of the case. Home minister P Chidambaram spoke of his reservations about a caste census but said he would go along with the GoM's consensus. Defence minister A K Antony, often seen to reflect the Congress brass' thinking, made it clear he was offering his personal view that a caste census was not a good idea. Corporate affairs and minority affairs minister Salman Khurshed argued the government will have to go ahead with a caste count as it was important in terms of numbers in Parliament. He could have been alluding to the support extended to Congress by OBC-centric parties like Samajwadi Party and RJD. But the assessment in government seems to be that the caste census was not likely to be settled in a hurry. The decision to seek responses from political parties is a sure indicator of this as apart from Mandal-oriented parties, others are likely to ask Congress to spell out its stand first. The caste count demand is sure to gain momentum during the monsoon session, but with the first round of the census over, government has time till December.