The Case for a Caste Census

General Studies Paper-2

Context: Recently, it was found that there is a need to amend the Census Act of 1948 to make enumeration by caste mandatory, instead of leaving it to the whims of the Union Executive.

About

• India, with its rich cultural diversity, has a complex social structure that includes various castes and communities.
• Caste-wise enumeration was introduced during British Colonial Rule (1881-1931).
  • However, independent India abandoned full caste enumeration due to concerns about perpetuating caste divisions.

Census Authority

• Union Subject: While Census is a Union subject, the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 empowers States and even local bodies to gather necessary statistics.
• Caste Surveys: Individual States can conduct caste surveys (e.g., Karnataka in 2015 and Bihar in 2023), but Census data carries more authority and is less contested.

Imperatives for a Caste Census (Why a Caste Census Matters)

• Social Imperative: Caste remains a foundational social construct in India. As of 2011-12, only about 5% of Indian marriages were inter-caste.
  • The use of caste surnames and caste marks persists, and residential segregation by caste continues. Choices of candidates for elections and ministers for Cabinets are still influenced by caste considerations.
• Legal Imperative: Constitutionally-mandated policies of social justice, including reservations in electoral constituencies, education, and public employment, cannot be effectively pursued without detailed caste-wise data.
  • Although the Constitution uses the term ‘class’ instead of ‘caste’, Supreme Court rulings have consistently emphasised caste as a relevant criterion for defining backward classes and upholding reservation policies.
  • The Supreme Court dismissed Maharashtra’s plea to enumerate OBCs in the 2021 Census. This decision is questionable, given the Court’s past rulings. Caste enumeration is a legal imperative, not merely a policy matter.
• Administrative Imperative: Detailed caste-wise data is necessary to avoid wrongful inclusions of undeserving castes and exclusions of deserving ones. It helps prevent a few dominant castes in a reserved category from crowding out others.
  • Sub-categorization within reserved categories and determining the income/wealth criterion for the creamy layer also require such data.
• Moral Imperative: The absence of detailed caste-wise data has allowed a coterie of elites, including upper castes and dominant Other Backward Classes (OBCs), to disproportionately control the nation’s assets, incomes, and positions of power.

Arguments Against Caste Census

• Social Divisiveness: India’s social divisions have existed for nearly 3,000 years, well before the Census efforts.
  • While caste counts of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) since 1951 haven’t led to conflicts among these groups, critics argue that casteism won’t disappear by excluding it from the Census.
  • Religion, language, and region, also enumerated, can be equally divisive.
• Administrative Challenges: Some view caste enumeration as an administrative nightmare. Unlike the fuzzy concept of race, caste identity is clear-cut.
  • The Indian government has smoothly enumerated 1,234 SC castes and 698 ST tribes. Enumerating the remaining 4,000-odd castes, mostly State-specific, shouldn’t pose an intractable problem.
• Reservation Demands: Contrary to fears, caste-wise Census data could help address reservation claims objectively.
  • Governments could debate and decide on reservations for groups like the Marathas, Patidars, and Jats.
  • Fuzzy data, however, allows arbitrary implementation for electoral considerations.
• Legal Challenges: When States like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, and Jharkhand attempted to implement reservations for OBCs in local body elections, the judiciary (High Courts and Supreme Court) stayed the same due to the absence of caste-wise OBC data.
• Contradictory Stance: While the judiciary demands caste-wise data to uphold reservations, the executive arm of the State has avoided enumerating the same data.
• Demanding a caste census often comes from the victims of discrimination, while vested interests resist it. Germany’s census, for instance, does not enumerate people by race, which disadvantages its Black population.
  • Applying Cicero’s test of ‘Cui Bono’ (who benefits?), we recognise that collecting caste data is crucial for addressing historical injustices.

Way Forward for Caste Enumeration in Census

• Census Act (1948) should be amended to mandate caste enumeration. Leaving it to the whims of the Union executive is inadequate.
• Census Commissioner’s Role: Caste should be enumerated as part of the regular Census by the Census Commissioner.
  • Pertinent Questions: A few pertinent questions about caste should be added to the questionnaire.
• Expert Involvement: The government should enlist sociological/anthropological experts.
  • Experts can draw up a draft list of castes specific to each State.
  • Public Input: The draft list should be published online, inviting suggestions and comments from the public before finalising it.
• Streamlined Enumeration Process: Enumerators should be provided with a specific list of castes (based on the finalised draft).
  • The questionnaire should ask for sub-caste names, caste names, larger caste groups, and caste surnames of respondents.
  • Internet-enabled handheld devices preloaded with caste details will make enumeration easy and foolproof.
• Legal Review of 2021 Judgment: Interested States should move the apex Court to review its 2021 judgement.
  • Implementing OBC reservation based on 1931 Census data and EWS reservation without empirical data is farcical. The next Census must enumerate caste.

Conclusion

• A caste census is not merely a capitulation to identity politics; it is a necessary step toward a more equitable and just society. It is a reflection of our commitment to social justice and equitable development.
• Amending the Census Act, 1948, to make caste enumeration mandatory would be a significant stride in this direction.
• Peter Drucker famously said, “Only what gets measured gets managed.” This adage holds true when it comes to addressing the problems faced by historically discriminated social groups.

Whether it’s based on caste, race, religion, gender, or disability, collecting data on group identities is essential for informed policy-making and inclusive development.