Next census will include caste enumeration: Govt

New Delhi : Caste-based enumeration will be a part of the next decadal census, the Union government announced on Wednesday, in a landmark decision that revived an idea abandoned at Independence that will have sweeping socioeconomic and political ramifications.

The decision – taken at the high-powered cabinet committee on political affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi – was hailed by political parties across the board.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) attributed the decision to the government’s social justice agenda but the Opposition said its sustained pressure forced the administration to buckle on a sensitive topic that was a key issue of the 2024 general election campaign.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cabinet committee of political affairs has decided today that caste enumeration should be included with the forthcoming census,” Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

“It demonstrates that the government is committed to the values and interests of the society.”

He didn’t give a date when the decadal census, already delayed by at least four years, is set to begin. But officials suggested that the headcount could commence towards the end of 2026 or beginning of 2027.

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance claimed credit for the announcement that meant India will be physically counting caste as part of the census for the first time since 1931.

“The government opposed a caste census till now but suddenly decided to do it. We welcome this step,” said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who made the demand a central poll plank in successive elections.

In the briefing, Vaishnaw said the census came under the purview of the Centre, but some states did caste enumeration in the name of surveys “non-transparently” which created doubts in the society.

Bihar, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have conducted caste surveys in the last three years, while Karnataka is mulling the release of data of a survey conducted in 2015. All states were ruled by non-BJP dispensations when the surveys were done.

All surveys have broadly revealed a similar pattern – the other backward classes are the largest social group and comprise more than half the population, while upper castes constitute a smaller fraction of the population than their social dominance would suggest.

A nationwide caste census is likely to lead to an expansion of caste-based quotas in jobs and education, likely breaching the 50% mark mandated in a landmark 1992 Supreme Court judgment.

“To ensure social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be done transparently and included in the census instead of being part of surveys…this will strengthen the social and economic structure of society,” the minister said.

Vaishnaw lashed out at the Opposition and said their surveys were done for political purposes.

“Some states have done surveys from a purely political angle in a non-transparent way. Considering all these facts and to ensure that a social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the survey,” he said.

The minister also targetted the Congress for failing to carry out a caste census.

He said in 2010, then prime minister Manmohan Singh assured that a caste census would be considered and a group of ministers was constituted to consider this subject. “Most of the political parties had recommended caste census. The government decided to conduct only a survey of caste instead of a caste census and that survey is known as SECC. The Congress alliance partners have used it as a political tool,” he said. The caste data of the socio-economic caste census was never released on account of irregularities.

The BJP called the move a continuation of the government’s welfare agenda.

“The Congress and its allies opposed the caste census for decades while in power and played politics over it while in Opposition. This decision will empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion and pave new paths for the progress of the deprived,” Union home minister Amit Shah said.

The announcement was welcomed by NDA members, especially those in Bihar, the first state to successfully conduct a caste survey in 2023 and where elections are due towards the end of the year.

“Our demand for conducting caste census is old. It is a matter of great happiness that the central government has decided to conduct the caste census,” Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar posted on X.

The Telugu Desam party (TDP), a key ally, also backed the move. Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu said the decision reflected the PM’s “deep commitment to inclusive governance.”

“ This landmark step will enable more precise, data-driven policies that address the needs of the marginalised communities in our country,” he said on X.

But the Opposition pointed to its repeated demand on the caste census – including in the 2024 elections campaign – to argue that the government was fulfilling its demand.

“The Congress had continuously raised the demand for caste census, whose most vocal supporter was Rahul Gandhi. Today the Modi government has announced to conduct a caste census along with the Census. This is the right step which we were demanding from the very first day,” Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Counting caste has always been a contentious issue in India. British-era censuses counted caste in minute detail but the last one to enumerate all castes was conducted in 1931. Independent India abolished the practice and subsequent censuses only counted scheduled castes and tribes. Though unofficial estimates exist, especially of the numerical strength of backward groups, there is no official count.

In 2011, the central government announced that alongside the regular census, a socioeconomic and caste census will also be conducted. But the caste data was never made public and the government later told Parliament that methodological infirmities held up an accurate analysis of the data.

The census will happen “soon”, a government functionary said.

The demand first started around 2022 in Bihar, a state considered as the cradle of backward caste assertion. The then ruling coalition in Bihar – comprising the Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress – hoped to use the caste census to resurrect a new model of social justice politics to take on the BJP ahead of the 2024 general elections. Bihar successfully conducted its survey in 2023 and hiked caste-based quotas to 65%, a decision that was later set aside by the Patna high court because it breached the 50% cap on caste-based quotas. Earlier this year, Telangana also proposed to raise the caste-based quota to 63%.

Tamil Nadu, at present, has a law providing for 69% reservation for identified classes. Although a challenge to this law remains pending before the top court, it has been saved so far on the ground that the law received a presidential assent in 1993 and was also put in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides only limited scope of judicial review.