Bengaluru, Sep 23 (NationPress) Facing criticism for including a Christian label for castes within the Hindu community, the Congress-led administration in Karnataka announced on Tuesday the removal of Christian tags from the socio-economic and academic survey, commonly referred to as the caste census.

The Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission, responsible for carrying out the survey, released a statement regarding this matter.

The statement indicated: "Legislative Council Opposition leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former Union Minister A. Narayanaswamy, and State BJP General Secretary and MLA V. Sunil Kumar had presented a memorandum to the Commission's Chairman Madhusudhan Naik, requesting the exclusion of specific castes from the survey."

Concerns were raised about the inclusion of Adi Andhra Christian, Adidravida Christian, Buduga Jangama Christian, Lamani Christian, Madiga Christian, Mala Christian, Vadda Christian, Adi Karnataka Christian, Banjara Christian, Holeya Christian, Lambani Christian, Mahar Christian, Paraya Christian, and Valmiki Christian in the survey, as stated.

Following objections regarding the publication of these castes, many others were also excluded from the final list during a detailed meeting held on Monday.

"It is confirmed that in the list of 1,561 castes, between page numbers 57 and 89, and also in the survey application developed by Economically Disadvantaged Caste Survey (EDCS), the Commission confirms that the aforementioned castes are not included," the Commission declared.

Reacting to this situation, the BJP stated that the Backward Classes Commission has officially acknowledged that it has "hidden" the Christian Scheduled Castes from its survey list.

The BJP characterized this as a triumph for the efforts led by notable members of the Hindu community.

This announcement is seen as a success for community leaders, religious figures, and political leaders who voiced their opposition to perceived attempts to indirectly promote religious conversions.

The BJP expressed gratitude to the Commission for making this timely decision, even if it was delayed.

The inclusion of 48 new Christian castes in Karnataka's Social and Educational Survey had incited widespread protests throughout the state.

BJP leaders had strongly criticized this initiative.

On September 21, the Backward Classes Commission clarified that it had removed 33 Christian Hindu castes from the survey list.

The remaining 15 Christian castes continued to be classified under the Scheduled Castes.

BJP leaders organized press conferences in over 10 locations statewide on Monday to address the issue and express their objections, according to the official party statement.

Today, a BJP delegation led by Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, A. Narayanaswamy, V. Sunil Kumar, N. Mahesh, N. Ravikumar, S. Muniswamy, former MLAs Y. Sampangi and M.D. Lakshminarayan, Sharanu Tallikeri, Saptagiri Gowda, and retired IAS officer Anil Kumar met with the Commission Chairman Madhusudhan Naik.

The BJP leaders engaged in discussions for over an hour, urging the Commission to eliminate the Scheduled Christian castes from the survey list, as stated.

V. Sunil Kumar, State BJP General Secretary and former Minister, remarked, "In the caste list prepared by the State Backward Classes Commission for the Socio-Economic and Academic Survey, Christians who converted from Hindu sub-castes were included. The creation of a total of 46 new castes not only encouraged conversions from other communities but also threatened to undermine the reservation system in the future."

"In this context, the Commission yielded to the pressure from our (BJP) protests. Two days ago, the Commission removed 33 castes from this list, and now it has eliminated 14 more castes from the Scheduled Castes category. Overall, our efforts have been successful, and we hope the Commission conducts the survey smoothly without further issues, adhering to the spirit of the Constitution," he added.