Nothing wrong in caste count: SC; rejects plea against move, Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court stated on Wednesday that the government can ascertain caste as part of the ongoing nationwide Census exercise.
• The court dismissed a plea against including caste enumeration in Census 2027, affirming it as a matter of policy.
• The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs decided to include caste enumeration in Census 2027 during a meeting in April 2025.
• Until the 2011 Census, only Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were systematically enumerated.

Detailed Insights:

• The Supreme Court emphasized that knowing the number of backward people is essential for welfare policies.
• The petitioner argued that caste data could be misused by politicians and corporate entities.
• The court clarified that deciding whether caste enumeration should be part of Census 2027 falls under the policy domain.
• Census 2027 includes two phases: House Listing Operation (HLO) for housing conditions and Population Enumeration for demographic details.
• A comprehensive nationwide caste Census was last conducted in 1931 during colonial India.

SC - caste census.png

Key Concepts Involved:

• Census: A periodic count of a country's population, collecting demographic and socio-economic data.
• Caste Enumeration: The process of counting and classifying the population based on their caste.
• Scheduled Castes (SCs): Officially designated groups of historically disadvantaged communities.
• Scheduled Tribes (STs): Officially recognized tribal communities with specific constitutional protections.