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Wrong number
APR 03 -
Dalits do not trust the census of 2001 in which they were shown to make up 13 percent of the national population. They feel that they have been undercounted and estimate they make up at least 20 percent of the population. A survey conducted by the Nepal National Dalit Social Welfare Organisation (NNDSWO) also confirms the estimate. Therefore, the Dalits demanded that a special census be conducted for them or that the state accept their estimated population. But they were turned down. The demand for a special census is weakening currently, and it is impractical as well. Meanwhile, the next census is approaching; and the chance of their being under-represented in it is still high. Therefore, this is the time for both the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Dalits to think profoundly and take timely action regarding how they can be accurately represented in the national headcount of 2011.
The census is not only useful for the government to plan policies and programmes, it is also important for the categories of people included in the census as they receive different privileges on the basis of their number. This is more important in countries like Nepal where, currently, identity politics is a major force. The census also plays a very important role in creating and freezing identities of the people, and in leading to competition among them for economic and political opportunities and power. It creates public awareness and thus helps to mobilise people around the census categories as they realise the value of their number for social, economic and political advancement. In fact, as historical anthropologist Nicholas Dirk in his book Caste of Mind argues, in the case of India, the mobilisation of people around caste, particularly the untouchable, in the first instance, is the immediate consequence of the census. Therefore, why caste/ethnicity was not included as a census category until the census of 1991 in Nepal is not difficult to understand.
The Dalits’ claim that they have been heavily underrepresented by the census of 2001 seems to be true for a number of reasons. First, there is unusual fluctuation in the population of some Dalit castes which makes one suspect the accuracy of the data. For instance, the population of Badis and Kamis decreased by 37.3 percent and 7.1 percent respectively between the 1991 and 2001 censuses while the national population grew 23 percent. Second, there was an increasing trend among the Dalits after 1990 to hide their caste identity and adopt the thar (clan) as their surnames. These names are mostly similar to those of Bahuns and Chhetris. Additionally, the Dalits may not have revealed their Dalit identity to the enumerators due to fear of discrimination and humiliation. Moreover, the enumerators may have been unwilling to identify the Dalits due to caste prejudices and stereotypes. Third, the census of 2001 reports only 15 Dalit castes despite the identification of 22 by the National Dalit Commission.
Collecting data along caste lines requires much attention as caste (jat) is a polysemous term having multiple meanings indicating many levels of identity such as varna, jat, thar or gotra. One may give any one of these identities when the enumerators ask about caste. It becomes more complex and difficult when two different castes use similar surnames or a single caste uses different surnames, which is a common practice among the Dalits. For example, the surname Nepali is shared by many castes such as Kami, Sarki, Badi and Damai. And each caste within the Dalits uses a great many thars as their surnames. For instance, the Damais use as many as 86 thars. Most of these thar names are shared by many castes within the Dalits and also by other castes.
Similarly, there is also a practice among some Dalits of using the term Dalit as their surname which makes it difficult to calculate the data along caste lines. The fact that 7 percent of the Dalit population were not identified in the census of 2001 is because the Dalits simply said they were Dalits without specifying their caste. Thus, the complexity of the Dalits’ identity requires that the Central Bureau of Statistics devote much attention while constructing the census questionnaire so that no caste is missed or miscounted. There is a glaring example in India regarding such complexity where, in the census of 2001, the caste of the First Citizen, President K.R. Narayanan, who is a Dalit, was not mentioned on the census official’s list.
In addition, there is still confusion and controversy about the number of castes among the Dalits and about who the Dalits are. This needs to be sorted out before the coming census. For example, some so-called Newar “untouchables” continue to be repeatedly listed and delisted in the official list of Dalits. Thus, in order to avoid such confusion and resulting under-representation of the Dalits in the upcoming census, both the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Dalits should take ample remedial actions. It is imperative that the census enumerators be well educated about the multiplicity and dynamics of identity and identity politics among the Dalits, their castes and thars. Also, the enumerators personally should get rid of their caste prejudices and stereotypes.
One of the important ways to reduce misrepresentation of the Dalits in the census is for the Central Bureau of Statistics to use and mobilise local Dalit organisations and local Dalit leaders or activists as census enumerators or as assistants to the enumerators. Another way to reduce miscounting would be to involve Dalits significantly at all the stages of the census process, particularly during questionnaire construction and data collection. No attempt by the Central Bureau of Statistics in this direction has been observed so far.
An equally important aspect is that Dalit activists need to create massive awareness among the Dalits about how they should be reported in the census, particularly which identity they should report. The Dalits should be encouraged to use their actual caste without hiding it. In addition, the term Dalit connotes a negative and derogatory meaning to ordinary Dalits, and they may simply not report themselves as being Dalits to the enumerators. Finally, a key idea to accurately represent the Dalits is to encourage them to self-report to the census enumerators. This is important because there is a high possibility of them being absent when the enumerators visit their homes as they are always away at work.
bkamar_2004@yahoo.com
Posted on: 2010-04-04 08:26
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