'Won't force anyone to participate': DK Shivakumar on Narayana Murthy, Sudha Murty opting out of Karnataka caste survey

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar

After Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and his wife, author Sudha Murty, said they would not participate in the ongoing Karnataka caste survey, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivkumar stated that they would not force anyone to participate in the survey.

“We don’t force anybody to participate in the survey. It’s on a volunteer basis,” DK Shivkumar said.

The caste survey is part of the ongoing Social and Educational Survey being conducted by the Karnataka Backwards Classes Commission.

Narayana Murthy and his wife submitted a self-attested letter regarding their participation in the official survey. In the letter, they stated that they were refusing to provide personal details for personal reasons. “We and our family will not participate in the census, and we are confirming this through this letter,” the letter read.

They clarified that they do not belong to any backward caste and expressed that their participation in the survey would not be beneficial to the government. “Therefore, we will not be taking part,” Narayana Murthy stated in the letter.

The Karnataka caste census, currently underway across the state, includes 60 main questions and 20 sub-questions designed by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes. In Bengaluru alone, about 15.42 lakh households have been covered so far. However, it is not yet clear how many households have declined to participate.