Karnataka | Original caste survey missing; where did it go, and how?

In what appears like the plot of a thriller, the original copy of Karnataka's much-talked-about caste survey report has gone missing. This has triggered developments which will see a new report being submitted by November 24.

No one seems to know where the original copy of the 'Social, Educational and Economic Survey', popularly known as the Caste Census, went. And how. The fact that it has not been traced yet has raised many eyebrows. And numerous legal questions.

According to informed sources, the original copy of the report, prepared by H Kantharaj, former Chairman of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, is not in the strong room of the Commission anymore. Scanned and certified copies do exist but these are not authorised versions and hence cannot be "accepted" by the government, leave alone implemented. The Commission, now headed by Chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde, is preparing a new report based on the same data, secured from the systems maintained by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).

It is only now that officials have admitted to the report going missing. All along, reports spoke only about "technical glitches" leading to the Commission to go for a fresh report.

New report by Friday

Hegde told The Federal that the data collected by the Social Welfare Department are safe in the systems of the Backward Classes Commission. “We have prepared a report based on authenticated data secured from the system. It will be submitted to the government before November 24,” he said.

Asked if the report will now be called the Jayaprakash Hegde Commission Report or Kantharaj Commission Report, he said it didn't matter. The report is more important than an individual’s name, he observed.

But how did the original report go missing? Normally, the reports of commissions are kept in the respective security rooms. The concerned Member Secretaries are the custodians, holding the keys to the strong rooms. No answer is forthcoming from any quarter.

In 2013, Siddaramaiah, who was the Chief Minister then too, directed a social, educational and economic survey in the state. In 2015, his government asked Kantharaj to conduct the survey. Kantharaj was the chairman of the Karnataka Backward Class Commission with an initial tenure of June 2014 to June 2017. He was subsequently reappointed to the post.

Kantharaj continued to be chairman under the JD(S)-Congress coalition government of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, from May 2018 to July 2019. BJP leader BS Yediyurappa became the Chief Minister in July 2019, and did not appoint a chairman to the commission. The post remained vacant for a year.

What the original contained

In August 2021, the officials of the Commission searched for the census report but the original copy was said to be missing. This came up after NV Prasad, the then Member Secretary of the Commission, was transferred and his successor K Dayanand discovered that the original report was missing. Videotaped footage shows that when the security room was opened on August 26, 2021 by Dayanand, four boxes with a scanned copy of the original report as well as original documents of data and CDs were there. These had Prasad's signature but were not authenticated.

The original copy had important content including the percentage of the castes and communities. It had also made fresh recommendations of social and economic status for select communities, a source added.

Kantharaj, however, denies that his original report is missing. "It is utter nonsense. How can a report in possession of the Commission go missing? It is completely baseless," he told The Federal in an interview. (Read the full interview here.)

The original report was prepared by Kantharaj after a mammoth survey at a cost of Rs 158.47 crore. The Karnataka government wants the survey findings implemented on the lines of the caste survey done in Bihar.

The Siddaramaiah government is all set to accept the new caste census ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections to mobilise various communities that will benefit from its recommendations.

According to credible information, the new report will highlight the economic and education facilities to be given to Dalits, backward classes and minorities.

Legal issues?

A former member of the Commission who doesn't want to be named warned that there may be legal hurdles if the government decides to implement the new report.

"If a new report is prepared and submitted, there will be chances of attracting legal tussles. The Commission may have to answer about the sanctity of the report and why the earlier report was not submitted," he said. The report containing the census data was signed by all the members of the previous Commission and its Member Secretary. But some sources say that the official seal had not been affixed in the scanned copy.

A few people who were members of the Commission when Kantharaj was the chairman have met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Some are ready to go to court once the Hegde report is submitted, a former member of the Commission told The Federal. A former chairman of the Commission who doesn't want to be named told The Federal that if the matter goes to court, then the implementation or acceptance of the recommendations may be delayed.

But he felt that the new report may have similar recommendations and figures as in the Kantharaj report.