In a rather bold move, minister of state for home Ajay Maken has written an ?open letter? to nearly 67 young Members of Parliament across party lines soliciting support for his opposition to caste-based census?a contentious proposal left to a Cabinet sub-committee to ponder over.
The letter, a copy of which is with The Financial Express, argues against such census and urges the young political class to take over the responsibility of ?identifying and establishing the national political agenda for governance?.
The fact?that Maken is not only opposing a move that has the support of senior ministers in the government but also appealing for support among the younger lot of politicians?is a significant move in itself.
Maken?s letter could be the reflection of a determined effort among the younger politicians to start decisively influencing political discourse which continues to be dominated by the old guard. It is yet to be seen whether such moves have the tacit support of Rahul Gandhi, whose allegiance to greater participation of talented youngsters in politics and policy-making is no secret.
While his senior minister P Chidambaram?s opposition to the caste-based census is well known, Maken has largely been quiet on the matter. But he has been working behind the scenes to put his point across. He had earlier dispatched a note to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and spoke about the matter in the highest circles in the Congress .
Maken?s letter strikes an emotional tone in the first paragraph itself: ?I write to you as a colleague MP rather than the junior minister in the ministry of home affairs. It may be acknowledged and appreciated that we, as the younger lot, have to practice politics and governance for at least the next 15-20 years. Accordingly, it is on our shoulders that the responsibility of identifying and establishing the national political agenda for next decades lies the most.?
The young minister believes that institutionalisation of caste was diametrically opposite to what the founding fathers intended. He also says the matter would open a pandora?s box with demands by each community and sub-caste to be included in the OBC category. ?Since its inception, in the past 15 years, the National Commission on Backward Classes have received and disposed of 1,184 castes requests for inclusion. With the legacy of my party and my forefathers, who were freedom fighters, lying heavy on my shoulders, I shudder to think as to what I would do if in a politically surcharged atmosphere, my community demands of me to stand up and ask for an OBC status for them,? he says.He points to how this demand was withstood even in the ?divisive atmosphere of Mandal and Mandir.?