Caste Census

The Opposition has been intensifying its call for a caste census, while the RSS recently expressed its support for the initiative. However, the organization emphasized that the census should not be used for political or electoral gains.

Background: –

The nearly century-old exercise to last count castes in a Census (1931) in India gives a good idea of the challenges the enumerators can face in any fresh effort, plus the complexities of the exercise.

Caste Census:

It includes caste-wise tabulation of India’s population in the Census exercise.
In India, caste data has been published from 1951 to 2011. But it includes the data of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes only.
It also includes data related to religions, languages, and socio-economic status.
The last caste census was conducted in 1931. The caste section put the numbers of Other Backward Classes (OBC) at 52% of the total 271 million population. This figure became the basis of the Mandal Commission’s recommendation in 1980 to grant 27% reservations to OBCs in education and government jobs, which was implemented only in 1990.
In the 2011 Census, the caste data was collected but the data were never made public.

Significance of Caste Census:

In India still, caste continues to be a foundational social construct so the caste census becomes a social imperative. Only about 5% of Indian marriages were inter-caste as of 2011-12, the use of caste surnames and caste marks, residential segregation by caste persists and even choices of candidates for elections and ministers for Cabinets continue to be dictated by caste considerations.
It is a legal imperative as the constitutionally-mandated policies of social justice which include reservations in electoral constituencies, education, and public employment cannot be pursued effectively without detailed caste-wise data.
It is an administrative imperative as detailed caste-wise data is necessary to avoid/correct wrongful inclusions of undeserving castes and exclusions of deserving castes, and to guard against a few dominant castes in a reserved category crowding out others.
It helps in sub-categorizing castes within a reserved category and determining the income/wealth criterion for the creamy layer.
It is a moral imperative as the absence of detailed caste-wise data has helped a coterie of elites, among upper castes and dominant Other Backward Classes (OBCs), to corner a disproportionate share of the nation’s assets, incomes, and positions of power.

Concerns/Issues with Caste Census:

It is socially divisive as India’s social divisions predate Census efforts by nearly 3,000 years. The Census counts of the SCs and STs since 1951 have not led to any conflicts among these castes or tribes. Further, India’s Census enumerates religion, language, and region which are as divisive as caste, if not more.
It is an administrative nightmare, unlike race which is a fuzzy concept, but is still enumerated in many countries such as the U.S., where there is little or no ambiguity about anyone’s caste. The GOI has been able to smoothly enumerate 1,234 castes in the SC category and 698 tribes in the ST category. Therefore, it is difficult to understand why the enumeration of the 4,000-odd other castes, most of which are State-specific, should pose an intractable problem.
Defining castes is a complex issue, as there are thousands of castes and subcastes in India which could lead to confusion, disputes, and further divisions within society.
It would fuel demands for increased reservations. On the contrary, the availability of caste-wise Census data would help curb arbitrary demands from caste groups and capricious decision-making by governments. Policymakers would be able to objectively debate and address the claims of, say, the Marathas, Patidars, Jats, or any other groups for reservations. However, governments prefer fuzzy data because it gives them the latitude to implement reservations arbitrarily for electoral considerations.

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