The return of caste census
Union government to include caste enumeration in census, reshaping Indian politics and policies, despite previous opposition from major parties.
Acknowledging that today’s politics has given the idea currency and salience , the Union government decided that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census. Though it is still not clear when the census, already delayed by four years, is likely to be held, this is an announcement that will have long-term implications for Indian politics and policies. Caste is a major socio-political fault line that influences political alignments, mobilisations and voter choices, and forms the core of all State affirmative action programmes. The outcome of a caste census is likely to force parties to reset their approach to questions of political representation, and may even reshape the legal stance on reservations, capped at 50% after the Indra Sawhney judgment. Accurate data should help the State fine-tune its affirmative action programmes and make them more effective.
The last caste census was held in British India in 1931. Census operations after Independence dropped caste as a category since the then national leadership assumed that enumerating caste could entrench its presence in society and weaken measures to eradicate it. That thought changed over the decades, especially with the spread of social justice politics to northern India, and the implementation of the Mandal Commission in the 1990s, which introduced reservations for the Other Backward Classes in public education and employment.
Nothing exemplifies this shift in the ground than the change in the stance of the Congress and the BJP, which have historically been against caste enumeration. After the 2019 general election debacle, the Congress under Rahul Gandhi became a votary of caste census, which saw Congress-led governments in Karnataka and Telangana undertake/publicise the caste surveys they had undertaken — states can undertake only surveys as the census is a subject in the Union list. The Congress was also a part of the Mahagathbandhan alliance that carried out a caste survey in 2022-2023, when the latter held office in Patna. As for the BJP, the decision to hold a caste census marks a momentous ideological shift for the party, which, influenced by its mentor the RSS, held that caste as an enumerative category serves only to divide the Hindus, and thereby the nation. All these arguments remain valid. So, what explains the current shift in strategy?
Both the BJP and Congress now recognise that they must address caste as a political category rather than engage with it tactically through instruments of patronage. Electoral compulsions and pressure from allies — Bihar polls are slated later this year and caste census is sure to be a headline issue in this epicentre of Mandal politics — may have influenced the BJP to pivot and claim credit for a historic decision that has implications for both politics and policy. It is a gamble of sorts for the BJP since it goes against its ideological grain and the presumed interests of its oldest and most loyal support base. However, this pivot is inescapable for the party as it pursues the idea of a consolidated Hindu society. If played smartly, it may help the party even sweep aside its anti-Mandal legacy and assume ownership of OBC-empowerment.
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