Why in the News?

• Recently, the Central Government announced that a caste enumeration will be included with the forthcoming census.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Caste Census (Introduction, Historical Context, OBCs, Challenges in Representation, Broader Social Implications, etc.)

Introduction

• Central Government’s decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming national Census marks a pivotal moment in the country’s socio-political evolution.
• The move is not just administrative, it is deeply political.
• As debates around representation, resource allocation, and social justice intensify, the caste census is being viewed as a corrective measure to decades of skewed data and policy imbalance.
• This new phase could reshape the contours of caste-based politics and governance in India.

Historical Context of Caste Enumeration

• Caste enumeration in India began under British colonial rule with the first formal Census in 1872.
• The 1901 Census under H.H. Risley converted the exercise into a political instrument by introducing caste classification, which later influenced the formation of caste organizations and discourse across the subcontinent.
• Post-independence, caste was excluded from enumeration, barring Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• The assumption was that caste consciousness would fade in a democratic, egalitarian framework.
• However, this exclusion overlooked the vast diversity and socio-economic inequities among Other Backward Classes (OBCs), especially the most deprived segments.

Defining the OBC Category and Challenges in Representation

• The first attempt to identify OBCs was made through the Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1953), which listed around 2,300 communities.
• Yet, its recommendations were dismissed due to vague criteria and lack of political consensus.
• A more radical intervention came from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, who argued that "merit comes from opportunity," advocating for greater access for marginalised communities.
• The breakthrough came with the Mandal Commission Report (1980), which estimated that OBCs comprised 52% of India’s population and recommended 27% reservations in public jobs and educational institutions.
• While the report's partial implementation in 1990 changed India’s political landscape, it also exposed the limitations of relying on outdated 1931 data. Since then, the demand for a fresh caste census has gained momentum.

Broader Social Implications

• While OBCs have gained political representation over the decades, this has disproportionately benefited intermediary and dominant backward castes.
• Several smaller SC and OBC communities remain invisible in public policy and electoral equations due to lack of data, leadership, and targeted welfare.
• A caste-based census could democratize representation by bringing such groups into focus. It could also shed light on land ownership, education, and access to government schemes, revealing the economic underpinnings of caste inequalities.
• The enumeration would not only serve OBCs but also denotified tribes, nomadic communities, and underrepresented minorities.

Conclusion

The inclusion of caste enumeration in the national Census signals a paradigm shift in India’s social contract. By generating granular data on caste and correlating it with economic indicators, the state can better target welfare schemes and bridge persistent gaps in representation.

If implemented transparently and sensitively, the caste census can become a tool for inclusive development, rectifying decades of structural inequities and ensuring that no community is left behind in India’s democratic journey.