Centre debates taking a caste count during census

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CategoryPolity

Last Updated23/08/2024

The ongoing discussions within the Union government to potentially include caste enumeration in the next Census exercise mark a significant moment in India's socio political landscape.
The last Census was conducted in 2011, and the delay in the upcoming Census, initially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has only intensified the debate on the inclusion of caste data.

Caste-wise enumeration in India has not been conducted since the 1931 Census, except for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). The demand for a caste Census has gained momentum, particularly from political entities.
In 2011, the Congress-led UPA government attempted a caste count through the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), but the data was never released due to inaccuracies and inconsistencies.
The total number of castes according to the 1931 Census was 4,147 and the SECC compiled more than 46 lakh castes, sub-castes and names.Bihar was one of the first States to conduct and publish a caste census report in 2023.
The 31 questions for the first phase — Houselisting and Housing Schedule — were notified on January 9, 2020. As many as 28 questions have been finalised for the second phase — Population Enumeration — but are yet to be notified.

Policy Formulation and Social Justice: A comprehensive caste Census could provide granular data that would enable policymakers to design more effective affirmative action policies.Accurate caste data could ensure that the benefits of these policies reach the most marginalized communities.
Addressing Inequality: India’s caste system has historically perpetuated social inequality. Understanding the current demographic distribution of castes, sub-castes, and their socio-economic status can help address these disparities.
Empirical Evidence for Political Representation: Political representation in India is deeply tied to caste.