And who were the first to ask for data?

Kaka Kalelkar and B.P.Mandal. And who were these gentlemen? They headed the First and Second Backward Classes Commisions. Listen to what Kalelkar had to say:

"Before the disease of caste is destroyed all facts about it have to be noted and classified in a scientific manner as in a clinical record. To this end we suggest that the 1961 Census be remodelled and reorganised so as to secure the required information... If possible, Census should be carried out in 1957 instead of in 1961."

That was a recommendation of the Kalelkar Commission outlined in its 1955 report. Let's see what the much reviled B.P.Mandal did to acquire data:

'Advisor to the Human Resource Development ministry for this Supreme Court case, P S Krishnan, told The Indian Express today: “B P Mandal had himself written to three successive Home Ministers and had repeatedly requested them to conduct a caste-based Census. But he was refused saying that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, independent India’s first Home minister, had decided in 1950 that there will be no caste-based census from 1951 onwards, when the first census took place in Free India.[...] Krishnan said that Mandal wrote “three DO letters to three home ministers, namely H M Patel in 1978-79, Y B Chavan in 1979 and Gyani Zail Singh in 1980.”'

So, who's afraid of data? And who stopped its collection in the first place? Definitely not the OBCs. Check who were the Prime Ministers when Kalelkar and Mandal made their requests - they were definitely not OBCs. Check who are the sociologists who first opposed and still oppose caste censuses? Andre Beteille and Dipankar Gupta are some of the names that strike you immediately. Aren't these the wiseheads who incidentally also happen to oppose reservations for the OBCs?

Why are you afraid of data? This is one of those umpteen accusations that are hurled at OBCs. Note the insouciance, at best, and brazen shamelessness, at worst, of those who hurl that accusation. If a caste census was carried out in 1961, reservations for OBCs would have started then - on a more comprehensive basis, even in states where they already existed. And perhaps, there wouldn't be as many OBCs now.

Did the OBCs stop the caste censuses forty/fifty years ago so that they could 'assert backwardness and then to claim that we are more backward than you' today? One would have thought the babalog fighting for 'equality' were the only denizens of Delhi who were capable of thinking up such filmi plots and (lines)- but one should've known better. There is a lesson here for the OBCs - if you think things have changed over the last forty/fifty years, you'll remain backward. Forever.

They stopped the collection of data then, because they didn't want to divide the country along lines of caste, they ask for data now because they don't want to divide the country along lines of caste.

Will they close down the IITs/IIMs and JNU etc.,?

Now that it seems almost impossible that OBCs would be admitted to centrally run educational institutions this year, and the future doesn't seem too rosy either for students from these castes, one question that, you'll notice, nobody asks...needs to be asked:

Will all admissions at all centrally run higher educational institutions be stopped? Will they close down the IITs/IIMs, Delhi University and JNU etc., until the issue of admissions of the OBC students is resolved? Because how can the government or the courts permit the functioning of institutions that cater only to a few castes in the country and exclude the great majority?

The Supreme Court hasn't ruled out the need for reservations which indicates that it recognizes the fact that many sections of the population aren't represented in these institutions. So how can the government continue to run these institutions that serve so obviously parochial needs? Do only the upper castes in the country have a right to equality and the others don't? And if the lower castes aren't to be admitted into these institutions until the issue is resolved, how can the upper castes be admitted? And how can these institutions still remain public institutions if only upper caste students would be admitted?

In this post, I'd said: 'But crudely put , the government owns them. And they were started with the objective of providing quality education to the people of India. Certain sections of the people were not represented- so they're claiming their share now. Their share, please note.' Which is their right. And these rights, whatever the reasons/pretexts, have been violated for the last sixty years in centrally-run educational institutions. And in most state-run institutions for lesser, but not less critical, periods of time. Now that the violation has been acknowledged, I repeat, should these institutions be allowed to continue to violate these rights? Shouldn't they be closed down until a fairer admissions policy, that reflects an accurate picture of the current demographic composition of the country and meets the very exacting, very objective standards of the courts, is installed?

That won't happen- no upper caste student/job applicant was ever stopped from being admitted/recruited because a new policy of reservations was being questioned in the courts. No academic years were lost, no upper caste applicant was refused a job he'd been selected for because the issue was in the courts. Their rights are important, inviolable - the rights of the lower castes on the other hand are not. Their aspirations, their disappointments can be ignored. Their efforts and their time- well, beggars can't be choosers. They can't choose the time they will be served, right?

The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the view held by the establishment, the ruling upper castes, that the lower castes shouldn't entertain any wrong notions about rights and all that rot. And be grateful for whatever crumbs, bheekh, khairat is thrown their way. Or not thrown.