UP Caste census: Amidst the political uproar over the caste census in the country, the people of the Kahar community, who carry palanquins, fill water and cultivate water chestnuts in UP, want to be out of the OBC list. The people of the Kahar community have filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court regarding their demand. Hearing this petition, the High Court has sought a reply from the Central and UP governments. In the petition filed in the High Court, it has been said that Kahar is not a caste but a profession. People of about a dozen castes and tribes have been doing the work of Kahar traditionally. 

This petition has been filed by Ram Avadh Gond, president of Dhuriya Janjati Seva Sansthan of Gorakhpur. It has been said in the petition that the Kahar community has been included in the OBC or Other Backward Class list of both the central and state governments in UP. They have been given this status since 1881 during the British rule. Petitioner's lawyer Rakesh Kumar Gupta, while presenting arguments in the court, said that Kahar is not a caste, but a group of people doing professional work. People of the Kahar community do the work of carrying palanquins, filling water, cultivating water chestnuts and fish farming. 

According to advocate Rakesh Kumar Gupta, most of the people doing traditional work related to the profession of Kahar belong to 

eleven tribes. These tribes mainly include Bhoi, Dhimar, Dhuria, Guria, Gond, Kaleni, Kamlethar, Hurka, Machhera, Mahara, Panbhara and Singhadia. These castes have been placed in the SC category at some places and in the ST category at other places. In Uttar Pradesh, the Kahar community has been placed at number four in the OBC list of both the central and state governments. Due to this, the people of the revenue department give them caste certificate of OBC category, whereas they should get caste certificate of SC or ST.  

In the petition filed in the High Court, it has been said that the people of Kahar community, who do traditional work like lifting palanquins and filling water, are facing a lot of loss due to this. They are not getting the facilities and rights that they should get. According to the petitioner's lawyer Rakesh Kumar Gupta, this is the reason why the people of Kahar community want that they should first be excluded from both the central and state list of OBC. After this, the castes and tribes associated with the profession of Kahar should be included in the list of SC and ST. 

The case was heard

in the High Court by a division bench of Justice MC Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar. After the hearing, the High Court considered the case serious and has summoned a reply from the Central and UP governments. The court has also asked five other parties to file their replies within four weeks. The court will now hear the case on October 15.