Last October, ET reported that the center aims to begin a heavily postponed decade-old census in 2025.
People who are aware of the developments say work on the census has been going on for some time and a cabinet note was prepared last year.
The same is true for OBC data
Earlier this year, the Home Secretary held a meeting with senior officials to finalize the questionnaire format for the census. Almost all ministries made recommendations while seeking advice related to caste from the Ministry of Social Justice.
So far, the census has captured such data based on the planned caste and planned tribe (SC/ST) category. The next one may also capture data from other backward castes (OBC). The Indian Register will conduct a census and seek various information.
If the person in charge of the family is a female, and if the member has a telephone and internet connection, the number of people living in the family is expected to be included.
It will also ask family members if they own a cell phone and which vehicle and any type of vehicle. Whether there are still questions about educational qualifications, whether the person lives in bricks and mortar (the home of Pucca or Kaccha), or is accepted by government welfare.
The census is also related to key issues in the demarcation and the Women’s Retention Act.
In the former, the southern state led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin believes that the redesignation of parliamentary delegates through demarcation will punish those who have done a good job in population control. He called for a 30-year freeze at the current level. The latter reserves one-third of the seats in the parliament.
Political influence
Vaishnaw said that while the census falls within the scope of the center, some states conducted caste enumerations in their surveys “non-transparent”, raising questions in the minds of the people.
“Taking all these facts and ensuring that the social structure is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the census, not in the survey,” he said, adding that this would enhance the social and economic structure of the society.
Opposition India bloc has made the caste census a major poll in recent elections, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promised that this will provide data to make the gains more fair.
The states that have committed such crimes include Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka, the last of which has not been published.
The last national census was completed in 2011, and the next census began in April 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. Although Home Minister Amit Shah said late last year that the census will be held soon, it is not clear when the practice will be carried out. “The message of a firm commitment to social equality and rights is given by the decision to include the caste census in the upcoming census,” Shah wrote on Hindi. “This decision will empower all the economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion and pave the way for dispossessed progress.”
Vaishnaw said in 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Lok Sabha that the Cabinet would consider the caste census. After most political parties recommend such a census, a group of ministers was formed. “The Congressional administration decided to conduct only one survey, not a caste census. The survey is called the SECC,” Vaishnaw said. “It is well known that Congress and its independent coalition partners only use the caste census as a political tool.”
The first caste enumeration of Independent India was conducted in 2011, known as the Socioeconomic and Caste Census (SECC) in 2011.
The 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.
