Why India must get the Caste Census right, Pg8

• The Centre’s decision to include caste enumeration in the next Census is termed bold, transformative and necessary.

• Caste data is essential for evidence-based policymaking, effective reservation implementation, and tracking development gaps.

• The failure of SECC 2011 and lack of caste data for OBCs has led to inequitable distribution of benefits.

• Dr. Ambedkar had criticised caste blindness in the 1951 Census as a denial of visibility to the marginalised.

• The article proposes a comprehensive 8-point blueprint to conduct the exercise fairly and avoid past errors.

• The Constitution allows caste-based affirmative action, but that requires disaggregated caste data.

• The Justice G. Rohini Commission (2023) found significant inequalities: 10 dominant OBC castes cornered 25% of benefits while 33% of OBCs received nothing.

• Current reservations for EWS among upper castes also show how evidence is needed across all social strata, not just SC/STs.

• A Caste Census is not identity politics, but an administrative tool for targeting social justice and resource allocation.

1. Legal and political support: Amend Census Act, back it with political consensus.

2. Exclusive institutional authority: Entrust to the Registrar General, not social justice ministries.

3. Accurate questionnaire design: Use filtered caste lists, aliases, and structured categories.

4. Digital codification: Avoid duplication and caste inflation by using a centralised caste code registry.

5. Public awareness campaigns: Involve community stakeholders.

6. Enumerator training: Teach linguistic and cultural sensitivities.

7. Third-party verification: District-level audits of enumerations.

8. Pilot trials: Test methodology in diverse regions before national rollout.

• Data disaggregation: Key for designing targeted welfare.

• Digital enumeration systems: Necessary for scalable, codified caste tagging.

• Error minimisation: Crucial for accurate representation of marginalised castes.

• Enables equity in resource distribution and inclusivity in policy.

• Makes caste-based inequality visible in official data.

• Helps correct elite capture in OBC reservation and broadens the democratic project.

Mains Mock Question:

“Caste data is essential for social justice, but fraught with political and administrative challenges.” Critically evaluate the rationale and roadmap for conducting a national caste census in India.