- By Talibuddin Khan
- Wed, 30 Apr 2025 05:26 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Caste Census: In a major decision, the PM Modi-led Union Cabinet on Wednesday announced that the next population census in the country will include the data of castes. The announcement came amid the opposition's demands for a caste census across the country. However, no schedule has been announced for the next population census.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, while briefing the decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, said, "Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided today that Caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census."
Vaishnav further slammed the states where caste censuses have been conducted in the recent past and said that census comes under the purview of the Centre, but some states have done caste enumeration in the name of surveys.
Alleging that the states ruled by opposition parties have done caste surveys for political reasons, the minister said it is the Modi government's resolve to transparently include caste enumeration in the forthcoming pan-India census exercise.
"Caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since independence. In 2010, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singhji had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census should be considered in the cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most political parties recommended a caste census. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct only a survey of caste instead of a census. That survey is known as SECC," Vaishnaw said.
"It is well understood that Congress and its INDI alliance partners have only used the caste census as a political tool. As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the subject census is listed at 69 in the Union list in the 7th schedule. According to the Constitution of India, census is a Union subject. Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate caste," Vaishnaw said.
"Some states have done this well, while some others have conducted such surveys purely from a 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 census instead of surveys," he added.
The move holds significance ahead of the Bihar Assembly Elections, scheduled to take place later this year, where caste equations reign supreme over everything. From Congress to regional satraps like RJD and even the ruling JD-U, all parties rely on the caste matrix to claim power in the state. Congress and its allies, including the RJD, have strongly advocated for it, reasoning that all sections of society must get representation in government as per their population.
The much-delayed decadal census exercise and the work to update the National Population Register (NPR) are likely to begin later this year, PTI reported, and the data will be declared by 2026. The population census in India was scheduled for April 2020, however, it was not carried out due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
