Vishwakarma Community Asked to Omit Sub-Caste Details in Census

Speedy Summary

• K.P. Nanjundi, President of Akhila Karnataka Vishwakarma Mahasabha and former MLC, urged members of the vishwakarma community to identify solely as “Vishwakarma” without mentioning sub-castes during the upcoming caste census in Karnataka.
• He stressed that this move is critical for ensuring accurate population enumeration and avoiding confusion within the community.
• According to Mr. Nanjundi, there are 40 sub-castes within the Vishwakarma community, but these distinctions shoudl not be noted during census documentation to ensure unified identity depiction.
• the Kantharaju Commission’s report claims that only nine lakh members belong to the Vishwakarma community in Karnataka; though, Mr. Nanjundi refutes this number, stating an estimated population of 30 lakh.
• He highlighted concerns about deprived benefits if accurate population data is not recorded due to internal discrepancies.

Indian Opinion Analysis
The call for a unified representation under “vishwakarma” underscores ongoing efforts by communities in India to secure recognition and access associated benefits tied to affirmative policies. Accurate enumeration through cohesive social identification plays a vital role in such processes-especially amid a broader caste census initiative where competition for equitable resource distribution intensifies across diverse groups. Ensuring vigilance within marginalized communities against internal fragmentation may contribute toward more effective policy-making long term while unifying identities can definitely help address demographic disparities raised in reports like Kantharaju Commission’s findings.Read more: Link