The politics of caste in Karnataka has once again flared up, this time with a shocking twist. Hindu caste names are being suffixed with Christian in the draft caste census. As per Mangalorean.com, the Congress-led state government has decided to revive the caste enumeration exercise from September 22 to October 7, claiming it will help design development schemes. But opposition and Hindu organizations allege this is nothing more than a dangerous social experiment aimed at creating new vote banks and extending caste-based benefits even to those who have converted to Christianity.
48 Hindu-Christian castes: Congress ploy to divide Hindus
In Bengaluru, over 120 Hindu social leaders slammed the Karnataka Congress government for creating 48 new Hindu-Christian castes in the caste survey while deliberately ignoring Christian denominations such as Catholic, Protestant, and Baptist. Senior Hindu leader and spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Karnataka, Mohan Gowda, questioned this divisive ploy, exposing how the government is attempting to weaken Hindu unity by inserting Christian converts into Hindu caste groups. He highlighted that the official list itself shows more than 55 Christian caste categories, such as Banajiga, Banjara, Devanga, Kuruba, Lambani, Madiga, Madivala, Nekara, Reddy, and Vokkaliga Christians, revealing a dangerous strategy to fracture Hindu society and serve political vote-bank interests.
Lingayat rift rekindled
The Lingayat community itself is already grappling with a long-standing identity clash. The Jagathika Lingayat Mahasabha, spearheaded by former IAS officer S.M. Jaamdar, insists that Lingayat must be declared a separate religion, distinct from Veerashaiva traditions. On the other side, heavyweights like Shamanur Shivashankarappa and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre maintain that the community’s true identity is Veerashaiva-Lingayat. This rift had earlier surfaced during the Kantharaj Commission survey, and once again, the caste census has reopened old wounds.
BJP raises alarm
BJP leaders, including state president B.Y. Vijayendra and former CM B.S. Yediyurappa, have warned that the Congress government is playing with fire. They allege that the inclusion of Others as a religion category and the insertion of Christian-linked caste names are deliberate moves to divide Hindus and weaken strong communities like Lingayats and Vokkaligas. A BJP delegation under the Samajika Nyaya Jagruti Vedike-Karnataka even submitted a memorandum to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, asking him to stop the flawed and divisive exercise.
Questionable draft list: “Christian Brahmin” and more
The most controversial aspect of the draft list is the appearance of caste names with the suffix “Christian,” such as Kuruba Christian, Vokkaliga Christian, Billava Christian, Madiga Christian, Lambani Christian, and even Brahmin Christian. This bizarre categorization has shocked many, as Brahmins, traditionally considered the uppermost Hindu caste, have now been listed under Christianized caste identities. Critics argue that this exposes the absurdity of the entire exercise and questions the credibility of the data itself.
What about the 2015 survey?
This is not the first time Karnataka has attempted a caste census. Back in 2015, under Siddaramaiah’s earlier tenure, the Kantharaj Commission had conducted the state’s first Socio-Economic and Educational Survey at a staggering cost of ₹165 crore. However, due to massive opposition from powerful communities like Lingayats and Vokkaligas and contradictions in the data, the entire report was shelved. Ten years of effort and public money were ultimately dumped in the bin. Now, the Congress government wants to repeat the same mistake.
Why then a state caste census when the center already conducts it?
The Central Government already carries out population enumeration through the decadal Census. Repeating the same exercise at the state level not only wastes taxpayer money but also risks introducing manipulated data to suit political needs. The argument that the 2011 Census is outdated has been dismissed by many who say a fresh national census would be the proper way forward, not fragmented state-level surveys riddled with inconsistencies.
The BJP and several seers allege that Congress is using the caste census to manipulate demographics. By including Christianized versions of Hindu castes, the government appears to be paving the way for granting Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe benefits to Christian converts, something expressly disallowed under the 1950 Presidential Order. This, they argue, is nothing but backdoor politics to enlarge the Congress vote bank while betraying the rights of Hindus who are legitimately entitled to reservations.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has dismissed all criticism as political. He insists that the survey is only meant to gauge the socio-economic status of communities and design scientific and equitable welfare schemes. But he has failed to explain why Christian caste names are being officially recorded and whether these groups will gain access to caste-based reservations despite their conversion to a different faith.
Voices from the Church
Interestingly, the Church itself is encouraging Christians not to miss the census. Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore stated that conversion should have erased caste identity, but in society it still persists. He urged Christians to register their data, adding that everyone should be equal before the law. However, this is a clear indication that the Church views the census as a stepping stone to securing caste-based benefits for Christian converts.
Congress ministers split over census
Adding to the chaos, several senior Congress ministers, including Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, M.B. Patil, and H.K. Patil, are themselves opposing the immediate conduct of the caste census. Reports suggest heated exchanges in the Cabinet meeting, with many urging Siddaramaiah to postpone the exercise. This highlights the deep divisions even within the ruling party over the political fallout of the survey.
The inclusion of “Christianized” caste names sets a dangerous precedent. If accepted, it will dilute the entire concept of caste-based reservations, allowing converted Christians to claim benefits that were meant exclusively for disadvantaged Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist communities. Not only does this betray the spirit of the 1950 Presidential Order, but it also deprives genuine SC/ST Hindus of their rightful share.
At its core, the Karnataka caste census controversy raises serious questions: Why waste crores of taxpayer money on an exercise already done nationally? Why introduce absurd categories like “Christian Brahmin”? And why risk dividing society along both caste and religious lines?
The Karnataka Congress government’s caste census has sparked outrage for its apparent agenda to divide Hindus and weaken their social identity. By creating Christian and Muslim tags for traditional Hindu castes, including Kuruba Christian, Madivala Christian, and Vokkaliga Christian, the government appears to be encouraging religious conversions and paving the way for granting SC/ST benefits to those who have abandoned Hinduism. BJP State General Secretary V. Sunil Kumar warned that this is not just a flawed survey but a deliberate attempt to manipulate social categories for political gain, risking the erosion of Hindu rights and privileges.
As per Daijiworld, the BJP has demanded that these fabricated caste categories be immediately dropped from the survey, stressing that the exercise should not be rushed. Sunil Kumar highlighted that previous surveys, including the Kantharaj Commission report and the Justice Nagamohan Das internal reservation survey, were either ignored or botched, wasting hundreds of crores of public money. Rushing through this survey during Dussehra or in 15 days is reckless, he argued, as it risks distorting data and undermining genuine Hindu beneficiaries of caste-based reservations.
Senior BJP leaders, including MP P.C. Mohan, state vice presidents, and legislative whips, submitted a formal memorandum urging careful implementation and adherence to social classifications. They warned that Congress’s agenda threatens to betray Hindu communities, dilute the meaning of caste-based reservations, and exploit vulnerable Hindus for short-term political advantage. The party insists that the survey be conducted transparently, methodically, and in a manner that protects Hindu identity and rights, not as a tool for political engineering.
Siddaramaiah’s actions clearly show a pattern of bias against Hindus, be it appointing Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the sacred Mysuru Dasara, allocating special funds for Muslim colonies, or now pushing a controversial caste census that inserts “Christianized” Hindu identities. One cannot help but ask: what wrong have Hindus done to deserve such constant sidelining by their own government? It is time for the people of Karnataka to realize the mistake of electing a state Congress government that thrives on appeasement and divisive politics.
