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India Today
02-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
BJP stole Rahul's thunder with caste census. But there are other advantages too
The National Democratic Alliance government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have stolen the thunder of principal Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi ahead of the crucial Bihar Assembly elections by announcing the first nationwide caste census in about 100 Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's casual announcement at the end of a Cabinet briefing that the upcoming census would include an enumeration of different castes across the country took the Opposition completely off guard. Many, however, were quick to claim credit for 'forcing' the Modi government to agree to accept and implement their aplentyEven as Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav insisted that it was a '100 per cent victory for PDA' — an abbreviation that the party uses for OBCs, Dalits, and minorities — as the Bharatiya Janata Party yielded to its pressure on caste census. Rahul Gandhi at a special presser said plainly: 'It is our vision which they have adopted.' While there is no denying that Rahul Gandhi has been most vocal in the last two years demanding a caste census, even brazenly advocating, 'jitni aabadi, utna haq', the ruling BJP taunted him, saying that his party, from the time of his great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru's prime ministership, had opposed reservation and 'deprived' the poor and marginalised sections of society of any sort of followed Nehru, partlyBJP spokespersons often quote Nehru's unequivocal statement from 1961: 'If we go for reservation on a communal or caste basis, we swamp the bright and able citizens from government service and will remain a second-rate or third-rate country.' It is difficult to argue with Nehru's modernist viewpoint, and perhaps, until recently, Modi too shared similar sentiments. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he repeatedly mocked the demand for a caste census, saying he only recognised 'four castes, that of the poor, women, youth and the farmers,' indicating that he was against going back in after the unexpected setback of returning to power in 2024 without a clear majority, he appears to have become more conscious of present-day realpolitik and the need to address the aspirations of the common man across the caste Modi held a two-hour-long meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh supremo Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday, as part of their newfound bonhomie, before the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs met on Wednesday and decided on incorporating the caste enumeration in the census, likely to be held early next of a grand designThe fact that the Modi-led NDA government is working to a 'grand design' in its third successive term is evidenced by the buzz around undertaking a more ambitious delimitation of the constituencies of Lok Sabha and the state assemblies after a census based on new population figures. There is also the possibility of dovetailing the 33 per cent Women's Reservation Act, already passed by the Parliament, perhaps to go with the 2029 Lok Sabha back to the caste census, the BJP has started tom-tomming that the Congress never 'cared' for the lower strata of society, as the caste census, which the British introduced in 1881 and continued without a break till 1931, was given up by independent India under the Congress regimes. The first post-independence census in 1951 and the subsequent ones (also involving non-Congress governments) enumerated only the numbers of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which enjoyed reservation under the leaders also point out that the United Progressive Alliance government under Dr Manmohan Singh conducted a socio-economic caste census during the 2011 census, whose findings 'were never formally released due to embarrassing questions surrounding data accuracy and consistency.'The survey mentioned the total number of castes in the country at 46 lakh as against a mere 4,147 castes in the 1931 census. For instance, tabulators found that in response to a question to 'name your caste', people mentioned 'Gupta', 'Agarwal' etc. where, ideally, they all should have come under the category of 'Baniyas.'A 'code of castes' directoryTo avoid such confusion in the upcoming census, according to official sources, the operation will be fully digitised and a code of directory distinguishing different castes will be provided as 'a drop-down' and the respondents will be required to tick the category they belong is also a proposal to 'pre-test' a select population base to iron out any glitches before the final count. The first part of the census will concentrate on the basic details of gender, age, education, employment, income, assets, type of houses, ownership and so on, while the caste census, including the government benefits availed or not availed, will be done in the second to a senior official, 'Even as the number of government benefits and schemes targeting the underprivileged sections of society has multiplied over the years, we were finding it difficult to reach the right people due to faulty data or unavailability of reliable information. Once the caste survey is completed, we will be able to reach out to the socially and economically deprived sections of people in a more effective manner.'The BJP under Modi has systematically cajoled and cultivated the most oppressed among OBCs and minorities like Pasmanda Muslims, Christians, and Jains to counter the influence and power of the more 'privileged and dominant' OBCs. The census figures, whenever available, could be used to consolidate its vote bank vis-a-vis its political the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies and their numbers, 'frozen' in 1976, is due for a review, the caste census could provide another 'weapon' in the hands of the BJP and its allies. Though the redrawing of boundaries will be done by the Delimitation Commission to be set up by the Centre after the census, with the caste numbers on hand, the ruling coalition could do slight manoeuvring here and there to gain some advantages.(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch
Economic Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Cabinet calls for caste count in next census
The NDA government has decided to include caste enumeration in India's next census, a significant political move ahead of upcoming elections. Union minister Ashwani Vaishnaw criticized the opposition, alleging past Congress governments opposed a caste census. The census will capture data on OBCs, household information, and access to resources, aiming for transparency and social equity. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads OBC Data Too Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Political Repercussions Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads India's next census will include caste enumeration , marking a major political shift by the NDA government . The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and comes ahead of the Bihar assembly polls later in the year. The committee includes key NDA coalition allies, including Jitan Ram Manjhi, former chief minister of Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam a statement on the decision, Union minister Ashwani Vaishnaw hit out at the opposition, alleging that Congress governments in the past had opposed a caste census while using it as a political tool. The exercise will be conducted in a transparent manner to ensure the social fabric is not disturbed, he October last year, ET reported the Centre aimed to begin conducting the much-delayed decadal census in aware of developments said work on the census has been going on for some time and that a draft cabinet note was prepared last this year, the home secretary held a meeting with top officials to finalise the format of the questionnaire for the census. Suggestions were sought from almost all ministries on this, while caste-related suggestions were sought from the social justice now, the census has captured such data under the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (SC/ST) categories. The next one will likely capture data of other backward castes (OBCs) as well. The Registrar General of India will carry out the census and seek a variety of is expected to include the number of persons residing in a household, if the head of the household is a woman and whether members have phones and access to an internet will also ask if the household members own mobile phones and what kind, as well as any kind of vehicle. There could also be questions on education qualifications, whether the person lives in a brick and mortar dwelling or not (pucca or kaccha home) or is a recipient of government census is also linked to the key issues of delimitation and the Women's Reservation Act On the former, the southern states, led by Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, argue that redrawing parliamentary representation based on numbers through delimitation would penalise those that have done well on population control. He has called for a 30-year freeze at the current level. The latter sets aside a third of the seats in the Parliament for the census comes under the purview of the Centre, Vaishnaw said some states had conducted caste enumeration in surveys "non-transparently," creating doubts in the mind of the people."Considering all these facts and to ensure the social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the census, instead of surveys," he said, adding that this will strengthen the social and economic structure of the opposition INDIA bloc had made the caste census a major poll plank in recent elections, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pledging that this would provide data to make benefits more that have conducted such counts include Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka, the last of which hasn't made the results last nationwide census was completed in 2011 and the next was to have commenced in April 2020 but got delayed due to the pandemic. Though home minister Amit Shah said late last year that the census would be conducted "very soon," there is no clarity as yet on when exactly the exercise will be carried out. "A message of strong commitment towards social equality and rights of every section has been given by deciding to include caste census in the upcoming census," Shah wrote on X in Hindi. "This decision will empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion, and pave new paths for the progress of the deprived."Vaishnaw said that in 2010, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that a caste census would be considered by the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed after most political parties had recommended such a census. "The Congress government decided to conduct only a survey, instead of a caste census. That survey is known as SECC," said Vaishnaw. "It is well understood that the Congress and its INDI alliance partners have used caste census only as a political tool."The first caste enumeration in independent India was conducted in 2011 and was known as the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) exercises during British rule between 1881 and 1931 included caste enumeration. After Independence, the government decided in 1951 not to include caste in the census, except for SC/STs.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Cabinet calls for caste count in next census
India's next census will include caste enumeration , marking a major political shift by the NDA government . The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and comes ahead of the Bihar assembly polls later in the year. The committee includes key NDA coalition allies, including Jitan Ram Manjhi, former chief minister of Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack A Chinese shadow falls on Pahalgam terror attack case probe How India can use water to pressure Pakistan Buzzkill: How India can dissolve the Pakistan problem, not just swat it Reading a statement on the decision, Union minister Ashwani Vaishnaw hit out at the opposition, alleging that Congress governments in the past had opposed a caste census while using it as a political tool. The exercise will be conducted in a transparent manner to ensure the social fabric is not disturbed, he said. In October last year, ET reported the Centre aimed to begin conducting the much-delayed decadal census in 2025. People aware of developments said work on the census has been going on for some time and that a draft cabinet note was prepared last year. OBC Data Too Earlier this year, the home secretary held a meeting with top officials to finalise the format of the questionnaire for the census. Suggestions were sought from almost all ministries on this, while caste-related suggestions were sought from the social justice ministry. Live Events Until now, the census has captured such data under the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (SC/ST) categories. The next one will likely capture data of other backward castes (OBCs) as well. The Registrar General of India will carry out the census and seek a variety of information. This is expected to include the number of persons residing in a household, if the head of the household is a woman and whether members have phones and access to an internet connection. It will also ask if the household members own mobile phones and what kind, as well as any kind of vehicle. There could also be questions on education qualifications, whether the person lives in a brick and mortar dwelling or not (pucca or kaccha home) or is a recipient of government benefits. The census is also linked to the key issues of delimitation and the Women's Reservation Act . On the former, the southern states, led by Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, argue that redrawing parliamentary representation based on numbers through delimitation would penalise those that have done well on population control. He has called for a 30-year freeze at the current level. The latter sets aside a third of the seats in the Parliament for women. Political Repercussions While the census comes under the purview of the Centre, Vaishnaw said some states had conducted caste enumeration in surveys "non-transparently," creating doubts in the mind of the people. "Considering all these facts and to ensure the social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the census, instead of surveys," he said, adding that this will strengthen the social and economic structure of the society. The opposition INDIA bloc had made the caste census a major poll plank in recent elections, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pledging that this would provide data to make benefits more equitable. States that have conducted such counts include Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka, the last of which hasn't made the results public. The last nationwide census was completed in 2011 and the next was to have commenced in April 2020 but got delayed due to the pandemic. Though home minister Amit Shah said late last year that the census would be conducted "very soon," there is no clarity as yet on when exactly the exercise will be carried out. "A message of strong commitment towards social equality and rights of every section has been given by deciding to include caste census in the upcoming census," Shah wrote on X in Hindi. "This decision will empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion, and pave new paths for the progress of the deprived." Vaishnaw said that in 2010, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that a caste census would be considered by the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed after most political parties had recommended such a census. "The Congress government decided to conduct only a survey, instead of a caste census. That survey is known as SECC," said Vaishnaw. "It is well understood that the Congress and its INDI alliance partners have used caste census only as a political tool." The first caste enumeration in independent India was conducted in 2011 and was known as the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011. Census exercises during British rule between 1881 and 1931 included caste enumeration. After Independence, the government decided in 1951 not to include caste in the census, except for SC/STs.
