NSS not to attend meeting of non-reservation communities

It sees bid to mix survey data and that collected by outside organisations

In line with its open objection to the socio-economic survey among forward communities, the Nair Service Society (NSS) has decided not to attend a meeting of the forward and non-reservation communities to be convened by the Kerala State Commission for Economically Backward Classes among Forward Communities on January 18.The meeting is being organised as part of formulating recommendations to the State government on the basis of the sample survey among forward communities.In a statement, NSS general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair said that the invitation letter to the meeting suggested that attempts were being made to mix up the survey data by the commission with details collected by some outsideorganisations. “This inclusion of data from outside is illegal. The NSS is objecting this sample survey as this proposed integration of data, collected through a survey that did not follow the law and received from outside,will only help erode whatever remaining rights the forward communities are having,” he said.According to him, the commission has neither ascertained the methodology of the survey nor has it fixed the criteria of backwardness among the forward communities. Noting that this unscientific survey will adversely affectthe reservation to the economically backward sections (EWS) among the forward communities as envisaged in the Constitution and would substitute the comprehensive socio, economic and community survey or the survey of each community as proposed by the Justice Ramakrishna Pillai Commission, he said theKerala High Court had already admitted arguments raised by the community organisation with regard to the sample survey.