An equaliser

Deepak Dwivedi

For the first time since 1937, a caste-based enumeration will be part of the upcoming decadal Census operation. The historic decision by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs will help in drafting “equitable and targeted” policies for onward journey to make India a Viksit Bharat by 2027.

As Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw put it in his media briefing, the exercise will be undertaken in a “transparent” manner when India launches its delayed Census operations next year. “This demonstrates that our Government is committed to the values and interests of our society and country, like in the past when our Government had introduced 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections of society without causing stress in any section of the society,” he said.

The last nationwide Census was completed in 2011 and the next one was to commence in April 2020, but got delayed due to the Covid pandemic. Post-Independence, census operations have meticulously recorded data on religion, language, and other demographic markers. But caste – a critical determinant of social and economic disparities – has been overlooked.

Transformative step

Its inclusion in the next Census is not merely a statistical exercise but a transformative step towards equitable development, ensuring that marginalised communities are accounted for in policymaking and resource- allocation. The caste system, a deep-rooted reality in Indian society, has shaped access to resources, opportunities, and rights. Despite decades of affirmative action, the lack of up-to-date data on caste demographics undermines effective policy formulation.

The Modi Government’s push for caste enumeration comes in the wake of caste surveys conducted by Bihar, Telangana, and Karnataka. The findings of these surveys, however, came under criticism on issues of methodology of data collection and the correctness of their findings. The Government has yet to announce the next Census, so the timeline of the caste-based census and its political implications remain far from clear.

However, the timing of the CCPA’s decision ahead of Bihar Assembly elections is significant. The demand for caste census was one of the main demands from the Opposition in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which deprived the BJP of a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha.

The BJP now hopes to reap dividends from the announcement of caste census in the next electoral battles in the politically-critical states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Opposition disarmed

Politics apart, the need for authentic data on caste and its co-relation with socio-economic indicators for policymaking cannot be disputed. Caste enumeration during the upcoming Census will definitely disarm the Opposition parties of a major issue that they had been agitating for long. However, the next steps, which include conducting the exercise, releasing the numbers, and how parties weaponise them to seek quotas and sub-quotas in jobs and education proportional to caste representation, might as well open a Pandora’s Box.

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