@BrainstormingSociologyCA

Sociology

NEWSLETTER
Census approach towards Caste identity

Caste census means inclusion of caste-wise tabulation of India’s population in the Census exercise, which is a
decennial count of the Indian population From 1951 to 2011, every census in India has published the population of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, comprising the Dalits and the Adivasis, along with the gamut of data
including religions, languages, socio-economic status, etc..

As Cohn noted, “It would not be an exaggeration to say that down until 1950
scholars’ and scientists' views’ on the nature, structure and functioning of the Indian
caste system were shaped mainly by the data and conceptions growing out of the
census operations.” In large part, this was due to the fact that most of the works on
the caste system from 1880 to 1950 were written by officials who had at some point
been census superintendents, either for India or for a province.

1
One outcome of the census need for identifiable criteria, at both the basic level and larger
aggregations was, as Pant puts it, a ‘substantialization of caste’: a caste became a unit “made up of
a name, a number of members, physical characteristics, cultural practices, territory occupied, in
short, by the sum of all the information about a social group that had been collected over a
number of surveys, and from a variety of respondents, whose social points of view were not
necessarily common” (Pant). The effect of this on the bulk of studies of caste has been
unmistakable, with considerable debate on the origins of the caste system (race, occupation,
cultural ecological explanations); the defining characteristics of castes (e.g. endogamy, restrictions
on commensality); the effective unit of caste (subcaste, caste-cluster, varna); the principles
underlying caste ranking (purity pollution, interactional); mobility within and against the caste
system (the concepts of Sanskritisation, dominant caste emulation, Westernisation, affirming Indic
values etc.); whether caste is specific to India or whether it is a limited form of stratification; and
whether resistance to caste can only take place within its own categories or can take place against
the caste system as a whole. In all these, existing castes are taken as given units. What we need
instead are studies that examine the way caste as a system (and the composition of individual
castes) changes in response to wider political, economic and historical developments.

The Debate over Inclusion of Caste in the Census: Like all administrative measures, a caste
enumeration is seen as having advantages and disadvantages for different groups of
people.Opponents of caste enumeration point to the past experience of mobilisation over caste in
the census and the current context of caste antagonisms, to argue that a fresh enumeration would
lead to fresh mobilisation and a further hardening of caste identities (Srinivas, Beteille). Such
mobilisation, it is also argued, would spoil the quality of data. Indeed, the data on Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled tribes which the census collects is already subject to political interference.

Roy Burman, on fraudulent returns in the context of reservations. Some sociologists have also
argued that caste data is particularly difficult to collect given the multiplicity of names and the
contextual manner in which terms are used, and that this problem has been exacerbated with all
the changes that have taken place due to migration, modern employment practices, inter-caste
marriages etc.(A.M. Shah; G. Shah).

2
@BrainstormingSociologyCA

Supporters of caste enumeration argue that the refusal to measure caste is a classic case of
upper-caste interests masquerading as the national or universal interest. Even in 1948 when a
comprehensive caste return were abandoned, there were some dissenting voices.

For instance, P. S. Deshmukh argued, “it is too early to expect that people will agree to the
abolition of caste. These very people now wish to continue their exploitation in the name of
no-caste. Census operations are very important and for all people they serve as an excellent index
to ascertain the progress they have made from time to time” (quoted in Maheshwari,). The major
demand for a caste census has come from Backward Classes Commissions, troubled by the lack of
data with which to carry out their tasks.

Post-independence, the term ‘Other Backward Classes (OBCs)’ has become popular and is taken to
refer to those groups which are not scheduled castes or tribes, but which are still seen to suffer
from ‘social and educational backwardness’. Although the Constitution uses the term ‘classes’, this
has generally been understood to mean certain castes . In many ways the dilemma over whether or
not to have caste returns in the census is reflected in parallel debates on how to define
backwardness - solely in terms of caste or on some economic criteria.

"Each caste is demanding superiority to equals and equality to superiors" - MN Srinivas

Ambedkar - Village not a place of cooperation but Dalit discrimination. Promotes feudalism,
casteism and Brahmanical domination. No humanism or spirit of justice. Caste ideology
perpetuated by village panchayats. Village republic stands in the path of equality,
superstition prevails, dogmatism rules and traditions perpetuate. Indian will develop only
with modern ideas of law, justice, humanism and equality.

Rajni Kothari said caste needs politics as much as politics needs caste. Caste needs politics to
strengthen its base. Politics needs caste as a vote bank. More caste is becoming weaker, more
caste is becoming stronger in India.

3
@BrainstormingSociologyCA