India well-placed to conduct caste census, says Prof. Sukhdeo Thorat

The Hindu

06-05-2025

Despite the complexities involved in executing it, India is equipped to carry out the proposed caste enumeration as part of the forthcoming national Census, according to noted economist and social justice scholar, Professor Sukhdeo Thorat. Citing the country's extensive experience with large-scale data collection and Census operations, Professor Thorat underscored the importance of undertaking the exercise with expert deliberation and technical preparation.
In an exclusive interview with The Hindu, Prof. Thorat, who is currently serving on an expert panel reviewing the caste survey conducted by Telangana, urged the Union government not to rush the process. He recommended the establishment of expert committees to prepare the framework, including the design of questionnaires and to standardise caste and sub-caste nomenclature across States.
Prof. Thorat emphasised that the lessons from previous exercises - notably the 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census, and the caste surveys carried out in Bihar, Telangana, and Karnataka - must inform the current approach. 'Since the errors and mistakes from these attempts have already been identified, we know the problems; those problems can be overcome,' he noted, adding, 'I don't think it is difficult.'
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Highlighting a shift in public policy focus, Prof. Thorat said that recent decades have seen growing demand for 'group-focused policies' rather than those targeting individuals. However, he pointed out that attempts at such policy interventions are often hampered by the absence of a reliable caste-based database.
Addressing concerns around potential misuse of caste census data for indiscriminate reservation claims, Professor Thorat remarked that such demands often stem from graded nature of the caste system. 'Every caste other than the Brahmins suffers from discrimination. So, there is a tendency to ask for reservations. At the same time, all are not equal,' he explained.
He stressed that the aim of the caste census should not be confined to allocation of reservations alone. 'What the caste census will do is identify group-specific economic, educational, and political problems. Some groups would require reservations; others may need economic or educational support — not necessarily reservation,' he continued.
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Prof. Thorat, who has formerly served as Chairperson of the University Grants Commission and headed the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, also urged that the Census include systematic data collection on caste-based discrimination. He pointed out that existing constitutional and legal frameworks, including the Protection of Civil Rights Act, already define 20 to 30 forms of caste discrimination, for which empirical data must be gathered.
'You should have data about to what extent the caste system has been eroded. There, the mind has not yet been applied,' he said. He also noted a reluctance among some proponents of the caste census to engage with the question of discrimination, calling for the inclusion of detailed questions on social, economic, and political exclusion across caste and gender groups.
Such measures, Prof. Thorat argued, would not only enrich the caste enumeration process but also aid in the sub-categorisation within the SC, ST, and OBC groupings, thereby enabling more nuanced and targeted policymaking.