Chennai – A consultative meeting of representatives from various social and caste organizations was held on February 10, 2025, to discuss the pressing need for caste-wise enumeration in Tamil Nadu.
The discussion gained momentum following the Supreme Court’s statement that it would soon take up the case of Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation policy for MBCs and SC/STs, now that the Maratha reservation case has concluded.
Raising concerns, PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss recalled that in 2009, Supreme Court Justice Kapadia had ruled that a caste census should be conducted within a year to justify Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation policy. He warned that the DMK government’s failure to provide adequate data could lead to the scrapping of the policy, potentially sparking unrest in the state.
Ramadoss also criticized the DMK government for not implementing internal reservations for the Vanniyar community, attributing it to the absence of a caste census. In the last assembly elections, PMK had convinced the then AIADMK government to allocate 10.5% reservation to Vanniyars, who make up 11.66% of the state’s population. However, this move was struck down by the Madras High Court and later upheld by the Supreme Court, citing violations of the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
Tamil Nadu Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar challenged PMK to urge its ally, the BJP, to conduct a nationwide caste census, or at least in BJP-ruled states.
Meanwhile, MLA M.H. Jawahirullah, a Muslim leader, also voiced support for a caste census, arguing that it would provide an accurate estimate of Muslim castes eligible for reservations in Tamil Nadu. “Currently, Muslim OBCs receive 3.5% reservation based on assumptions rather than empirical data. A caste census is essential to determine the actual figures,” he stated.
With Bihar and Telangana recently conducting caste censuses, Tamil Nadu could soon follow suit, further intensifying the nationwide debate on social justice and reservation policies.
