Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on April 30, 2025, that the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs had approved the inclusion of caste enumeration in the next population census. The announcement marks a reversal of the current administration’s position since the BJP has never shown any interest in conducting a caste census. The opposition, on the other hand, especially Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, has been demanding a caste census for some time now.
In response to Rahul Gandhi’s demand for a caste census in the Lok Sabha in 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the four biggest caste categories for him were “women, youth, farmers, and the poor”. The government now appears to acknowledge the folly of long ignoring caste as an issue deserving serious deliberation and policy intervention.
The timing of the announcement indicates that it has much to do with the upcoming election in Bihar (October/November). Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, had alleged that the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh did not want a caste census because they were against reservation. Now, the BJP will be able to project itself as the party that acted upon the idea of a caste census.
Historical context
In independent India, Census exercises from 1951 to 2011 included data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but not on other castes. But in colonial times, every Census until 1931 had data on caste, and as such, these exercises exposed the inequalities between castes and led to interventions aimed at helping backward castes to overcome their disadvantages.
Between 2011 and 2013, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government collected data on the country’s castes and tribes under the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011, which followed the Census of 2011. The data collected on the total number of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under this exercise were, however, not made public. This was because of anomalies found in the data.
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In Indra Sawhey v. Union of India (1992), the Supreme Court underscored the importance of the collection of caste data for reservations and for furthering the aim of affirmative action. A caste census would hold up a mirror to India’s layered social realities and socio-economic inequalities.
Data on Dalit and OBC communities, for instance, can show that their struggles are not isolated but part of a shared experience of exclusion. Over time, the circulation of caste data has fostered a collective awareness and solidarity among marginalised people. This awareness has shaped a distinct political imagination, one grounded not in abstract ideals of nationhood but in lived realities of deprivation. The caste census, then, is not just a tool of enumeration—it is a vehicle for reimagining the nation through the lens of social justice.
A caste census can be crucial for understanding and addressing social inequality by providing detailed, caste-specific data highlighting disparities across various socio-economic factors. By collecting information,inter alia, on education, employment, income, and healthcare access, such a census can reveal the unequal distribution of resources and opportunities among different caste groups.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressing the media at the launch of his government’s comprehensive caste census targeting Scheduled Castes to gather empirical data on subcaste demographics, in Bengaluru on May 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR
For instance, the 2011 Census recorded a 66.1 per cent literacy rate among Scheduled Castes, significantly lower than the national average of 72.99 per cent. The National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-2016) data revealed that the monthly per capita expenditure of SC/ST households was lower than that of general caste households.
Health disparities are also stark. Data on these parameters help in identifying areas where marginalised communities are lagging. In education, for example, certain castes have higher dropout rates among school-going children. Dalit women have, on average, a life expectancy that is 15 years lower than that of women from dominant castes.
Such information is critical for policymakers to design targeted interventions and ensure that resources are allocated effectively and policies like reservations are grounded in recent, accurate data. A caste census would also enable monitoring of social programmes and help in assessing whether efforts to reduce inequality are successful and if new strategies are needed.
Highlights
- Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on April 30, 2025, that the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs had approved inclusion of caste enumeration in the next Census: a U-turn in government position.
- The timing of the announcement indicates that it has much to do with the upcoming election in Bihar (October/November). Now, the BJP will be able to project itself as the party that acted upon the idea of a caste census.
- A caste census is crucial for addressing social inequality by providing detailed, caste-specific data highlighting disparities across socio-economic factors, which is for designing targeted interventions.
The challenges ahead
A caste census, however, would also present serious concerns rooted in historical and logistical complications. Similar exercises in the past, such as those in 1871 and 1931, had used arbitrary classifications: for instance, beggars, cooks, and mendicants were grouped under vague categories. This shows the difficulty of capturing caste complexity. The 2011 SECC recorded over 46.7 lakh caste names with 8.2 crore errors, exposing the administrative chaos that such exercises can involve.
An enumerator collecting data on a hand-held device to record the empirical data on subcaste demographics, in a Bengaluru neighbourhood on May 5, 2025, as Karnataka begins a Statewide Caste Census for SCs.
| Photo Credit:
THE HINDU
Misclassification is also rampant. Surnames such as “Dhanak”, “Dhanka”, and “Dhanuk” occur across SC and ST categories, depending on the State, often leading to incorrect enumeration. These challenges are magnified when caste data are used to push for “proportional reservations”.
Thus, a caste census exercise poses many challenges and must be carried out in accordance with the constitutional ethos of equality (Article 14) and dignity (Article 21). It should also align with global standards under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Articles 1 and 7, which uphold equality and human dignity.
Article 340 of the Indian Constitution, which mandates investigation into conditions of backward classes and recommends action, must be made a reality via a caste census. Manipulation or misuse of data, which could potentially lead to unjust policies, should be avoided; such misuse would violate the principles of “fairness” and “due process” laid down in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978).
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The release of the Bihar Caste Census Report 2023 has produced a significant shift in understanding the State’s demographic landscape. The report shows 63 per cent of its population comprises OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), with EBCs alone making up 36.01 per cent of the population. The report challenges the traditional dominance of privileged castes in Bihar’s political and social spheres and highlights the significant gap between the State’s dominant privileged castes (15.5 per cent of the population) and its marginalised castes (84 per cent of the population), underscoring the need for more robust affirmative action policies.
The Centre’s announcement of caste census came a day after the Prime Minister met (on April 29, 2025) the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who has ardently demanded a reassessment of the reservation policy before Bihar goes to the polls. The Modi government has a long list of failed promises to account for—whether it is two crore jobs annually, or a legal guarantee for minimum support price for farmers’ produce, or free ration to 80 crore people for five years. The grand vision of “Viksit Bharat” appears directionless and distant at this point without a clear action plan for ensuring progressive, inclusive human capital development for all, while minimising inequalities of access and outcomes. It remains to be seen whether the caste census will become another political distraction, aimed at deflecting attention from the escalating security crisis in Kashmir and swaying votes, or if it will deliver meaningful change. Either way, it must be pursued in line with constitutional values of justice, fairness, and equity.
Deepanshu Mohan is Professor of Economics and Dean, O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), Sonipat, Haryana. Aman Chain, Harshita Hari, and Najam Us Saqib of the Centre for New Economics Studies contributed to this article.
Source:https://frontline.thehindu.com/politics/caste-census-bjp-policy-shift-bihar-election-reservations/article69543537.ece