Politicians of various hues and color in a desperate attempt to lure various ‘caste' voters to their side are on a dangerous path of re-inventing and resurrecting ‘castes' the eradication of which had been the Congress and nationalist leaders' goal, and reformers' dream for decades, if not centuries.

Caste, in any case, was never sanctioned by ancient Hindu religion or the Hindu scriptures. It was opposed by Mahatma Gandhi and others before and after him. All along before and decades after independence the Congress and many other parties have also been saying (may be it was only lip service) that caste should not play a role in politics. However, all these political parties have been using caste, and candidates of particular caste in particular areas to win elections. Now their undeclared agenda has surfaced because of the current census, the biggest exercise after general elections in India.

The caste factor is touted as elimination of discrimination and to give more rights and benefits to the backward groups. The consequence of it would certainly be further fragmenting Indian society and areas, and undermining the unity of the country's majority held together with the undercurrent of Hinduism.

This is another attempt to strike a blow to India's unity, integrity and cohesion and sow the seeds of further division of the country, states and even areas into caste-based entities. Caste is playing a significant part in education and jobs as a result of reservation, already. Caste in census will open the floodgates of caste-based politics to take India further toward disintegration.

Luckily, there is a movement growing in strength that was launched only the other day that wants Indians to write under the caste column only "Hindustani" (or Indian).

According to a report from India:

"Mention ‘Hindustani' (Indian) as your caste.

This was the consensus arrived at a symposium on caste-based census attended by prominent people like former Union Minister for Civil Aviation Arif Mohammad Khan.

Amid demands for caste-based census, the symposium, which was held here last week, announced the launch of a movement "Meri Jaati Hindustani" (My Caste is Indian).

Khan, J.C. Sharma, a former Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and several social and literary figures assembled at the symposium also decided to set up a committee to transform their initiative into a mass movement. It is aimed at motivating people to write ‘Hindustani' or ‘Indian' as their caste in the census form.

"Even if only four to five crore (50 million) people write their caste as Indian or whatever they call it in their mother tongue, this will be a huge success and will help more and more citizens to follow suit," Khan said.

He said the number of people believing their caste as "Indian" is not less but they are "unorganized" and not "instituted."

The movement is bringing in those people to motivate others. The demand for a caste-based step is "a conspiracy to divide the country," the participants said adding they do not oppose if someone mentions his or her caste in general conversation etc.
Prominent journalist Dr. Ved Pratap Vaidik said people need a "new caste - Indian. It is caste not by birth but by choice," he said.

He said the proposed committee of experts will formulate its modem and plans to further the cause in a week's time, and insisted on the use of modern techniques like SMSs and e-mails to popularize the movement.

"I request everyone to sign their e-mails and messages by writing Indian with their name," Vaidik said, citing example from Barack Obama's successful US Presidential poll campaign using e-mails.

Sharma said the goal of Indian Constitution is "to create a casteless and classless society," but the caste census is "disgrace for Ambedkar's dream."

He also said politicians only know the "language of vote-bank," but if hundreds of millions of people join the campaign they will be forced to rethink over their decision."

Zeenews.com reported that film industry's superstar Amitabh Bachchan has declared that "my caste is Indian."

The Mumbai report said: While the debate over caste census intensifies with most parties rooting for it, Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan is clear where he stands on the controversial issue. If ever asked to mention his caste, he says categorically, he would be ready with the answer - Indian.

Census enumerators came calling on the Bachchan household, prompting Amitabh to express his views on the issue of caste census.

"Wary of the sensitivity that this has raised recently by politicians, they keep away from it. They reason that they would wait for some government decision on this. I tell them irrespective of what the system decides, my answer is ready - caste, Indian," he wrote on his blog bigb.bigadda.com.

Big B says that his father, Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a noted Hindi poet and litterateur, never believed in caste system.

"My Father never believed in caste and neither do any of us. He married a Sikh (Teji Bachchan), I married a Bengali (Jaya Bhaduri), my brother a Sindhi (Ramola), my daughter (Shweta) a Punjabi (Nikhil Nanda), my son (Abhishek) a Mangalorean (Aishwarya Rai)... in his autobiography he (Harivansh Rai) had expressed that future generations of his family should marry into different parts of the country. So far that tradition has been kept alive!!"

Amitabh recounts the morning the enumerators came to his house.

"From the morning a consensus on the census. Officials from the BMC, the Bombay Municipal Corporation, troop into Prateeksha to detail in on information that shall for the first time in India develop for every citizen the UID - a Unique Identity Card.

"All kinds of information is sought name, place, age, dependents, place of birth, house, residence years and on. I wait for them to come to the crucial controversial one - caste. They don't."

Deputy leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde (BJP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) President Sharad Yadav are also among those demanding that caste be registered during the census exercise. Yes, the sure way to further fragmentation of India.