Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, Sudha Murthy decline participation in Karnataka caste census

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and author Sudha Murthy have declined to participate in Karnataka’s ongoing caste census, submitting self-attested letters to the state Backward Classes Commission, citing personal reasons and stating their participation would not benefit the government.

Bengaluru: Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and his wife, author Sudha Murthy, have declined to participate in the ongoing controversial Socio-Economic and Academic Survey, commonly known as the caste census, being conducted by the Congress-led government in Karnataka.

Both submitted a self-attested letter to the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission, the autonomous government body carrying out the survey.

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In the official survey form, Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murthy stated that they were refusing to provide details for personal reasons. “We and our family will not participate in the census, and we are confirming it through this letter,” the format letter read.

They further clarified that they do not belong to any backward caste and that their participation in the survey would not be of any use to the government. “Hence, we are not taking part,” Narayana Murthy said in the letter.

Recently, enumerators conducted a survey at Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar’s residence in Sadashivanagar, Bengaluru. Shivakumar, along with his family members, participated in the process. Questions on religion, caste, and other key details were asked, to which Shivakumar responded patiently.

However, despite providing all the required information, enumerators continued to ask him more questions, even counter-questions. Irritated by the prolonged questioning, Shivakumar reportedly remarked, “Why are you taking so much time just to ask questions? Too much questioning.”

Meanwhile, senior advocate B.V. Acharya recently expressed the view that it would be better not to participate in the caste census, cautioning that if one does, there is a risk of personal information being misused.

The deadline for Karnataka’s caste census has been extended, with the survey set to conclude statewide by October 12 and in Bengaluru by October 24, after the initial October 7 deadline was missed due to incomplete data collection.

To facilitate the completion of the survey, schools have been adjusted to a half-day schedule, and government and aided schools will operate from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. until the new deadlines, with some Dasara holidays also extended.

The decision was taken as the survey was not completed by the original October 7 deadline.

As of early October 2025, the ongoing caste survey in Karnataka has covered about 83 per cent of households, with 1.22 crore households enumerated out of the state’s 1.43 crore total.