Scribd
Upload
6 views

Caste Census - A comprehensive note

The document discusses the history and significance of caste enumeration in India's Census, highlighting its evolution from regular inclusion until 1951 to the current focus on SC and ST data. It details the Modi government's recent decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming Census due to political pressures and the need to address social justice narratives. Additionally, it covers key commissions, recent state-level surveys, and the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling on sub-classification within SC/ST reservations to ensure equitable distribution of benefits.

Uploaded by

Jobanpreet Hundal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
6 views

Caste Census - A comprehensive note

The document discusses the history and significance of caste enumeration in India's Census, highlighting its evolution from regular inclusion until 1951 to the current focus on SC and ST data. It details the Modi government's recent decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming Census due to political pressures and the need to address social justice narratives. Additionally, it covers key commissions, recent state-level surveys, and the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling on sub-classification within SC/ST reservations to ensure equitable distribution of benefits.

Uploaded by

Jobanpreet Hundal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Caste Census | A Comprehensive Note

What is the Census?


• India’s Census is a decennial (every 10 years) exercise, first conducted in 1872.
• Managed by the Registrar General & Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs since
1949.
• Last conducted in 2011; 2021 Census delayed due to COVID-19.

What is a Caste Census?


• Collection of detailed data on caste groups, their socio-economic and educational status.
• Caste enumeration was routine from 1881 to 1931 (British rule).
• Post-independence (from 1951): Only SC and ST data collected at the national level; OBCs and
other castes excluded.
• The last full caste enumeration: 1931 Census.

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION & POLICY SHIFT MODI GOVERNMENT's DECISION


April 2025: Modi-led Cabinet Committee on
Why Did Caste Enumeration Stop? Political Affairs approved caste enumeration in
• Post-independence, the focus was on national the upcoming Census.
unity and reducing caste divisions.
• Only SC/ST data collected for affirmative action Why Now?
and constitutional guarantees. • Pressure from opposition, especially Congress
• OBC and other caste data left to state-level and Rahul Gandhi, who made caste census a
surveys (from 1961). key political demand.
• 2024 Lok Sabha elections: BJP’s performance
Attempts at Caste Data Collection: impacted by consolidation of SC, OBC, and ST
• 2010: UPA government’s Socio Economic Caste votes around the opposition.
Census (SECC) – socio-economic data released • Bihar assembly elections approaching – caste
(2016), but caste data withheld. dynamics are crucial.
• Expert group (NITI Aayog) formed to classify
SECC data; results not made public. Political Calculus:
• BJP’s earlier resistance: Accused Congress of
Recent State-Level Surveys: using caste for divisive politics; 2021: Officially
• Bihar (2023), Telangana (2023), Karnataka declined to enumerate castes beyond SC/ST.
(2015/2024): Pioneered state-specific caste and • Now, a strategic shift to neutralise opposition’s
socio-economic surveys, influencing national social justice narrative and regain support
debate. among backward classes.

Click here  https://t.me/anthropologybydikshant

DIKSHANT SHARMA
IMPORTANT COMMISSIONS Mandal Commission (1979-80)
• Second Backward Classes Commission,
Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1953-55) chaired by B.P. Mandal.
• India’s first Backward Classes Commission, set • Used 1931 caste census data, social and
up under Article 340 of the Constitution. educational indicators to identify OBCs.
• Aimed to identify socially and educationally
backward classes and recommend measures for Key recommendations:
their upliftment. • 27% reservation for OBCs in central
government jobs and educational institutions.
Key recommendations: • Introduction of the “creamy layer” concept to
• Caste-wise enumeration in the 1961 Census. exclude affluent OBCs from reservation
• Reservations in government jobs and educational benefits.
institutions. • Welfare and skill development measures for
• Special economic and educational initiatives for OBCs; land reforms.
backward classes. • Profound impact: Mandal recommendations
• Government did not implement its implemented in 1990, reshaping India’s
recommendations, but it laid the foundation for reservation system and social justice
future debates and policies on backward class discourse; upheld with a 50% cap by the
welfare. Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney case.

Rohini Commission (2017–present) Supreme Court’s 2024 Judgment


• Set up under Article 340 to examine sub-
categorisation of OBCs for more equitable Background
reservation benefits. • Earlier, SCs and STs were treated as
homogeneous groups for reservation (E.V.
Mandate: Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh, 2004).
• Study the distribution of reservation benefits • States’ attempts at sub-classification (e.g.,
among OBCs. Punjab, Tamil Nadu) were struck down based
• Propose sub-categories within OBCs for targeted on this precedent.
quota allocation.
• Address concerns that dominant OBC groups 2024 Landmark Ruling
corner most benefits. • A 7-judge Supreme Court bench (6:1 majority)
• Proposed dividing 2,633 OBC castes into four allowed states to sub-classify SCs and STs
subcategories to ensure fairer distribution of the within the 15% reservation quota, to better
27% OBC quota. support the most disadvantaged among them.
• Sub-classification must be based on empirical
data and historical evidence of discrimination,
not political motives.
• States are empowered to create sub-quotas for
the most backward sub-groups, ensuring more
equitable distribution of reservation benefits.

Click here  https://t.me/anthropologybydikshant

DIKSHANT SHARMA
Q1. Which of the following statements regarding caste enumeration in the Indian Census is/are
correct?
1. Caste enumeration was a regular feature in every Census from 1881 to 1951.
2. After independence, only Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) data were collected
at the national level.
3. The last full caste enumeration in India was conducted in 1931.

Select the correct answer using the code below:


(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer - (b) 2 and 3 only

Q2. With reference to the Mandal Commission (1979-80), consider the following statements:
1. It recommended 27% reservation for OBCs in central government jobs and educational
institutions.
2. It introduced the concept of the "creamy layer" to exclude affluent OBCs from reservation
benefits.
3. Its recommendations were implemented immediately after submission in 1980.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?


(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Q3. In the context of the Supreme Court’s 2024 judgment on sub-classification within SC/ST
reservations, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. The judgment overturned the earlier E.V. Chinnaiah (2004) ruling.
2. States can now sub-classify SCs and STs within the existing reservation quota based on
empirical evidence.
3. Sub-classification can be done solely on political considerations.

Select the correct answer using the code below:


(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Click here  https://t.me/anthropologybydikshant

DIKSHANT SHARMA
MAINS Practice Questions

Q1. Discuss the historical evolution of caste enumeration in the Indian Census. Critically analyse the
rationale and potential implications of the government’s recent decision to include caste enumeration
in the upcoming Census.

Q2. Examine the significance of the Supreme Court’s 2024 judgment allowing sub-classification
within SC/ST reservations. How might this decision impact the distribution of reservation benefits and
the broader discourse on social justice in India?

Click here  https://t.me/anthropologybydikshant

DIKSHANT SHARMA

You might also like