'Surveys Used As Political Tool': Why Modi Govt Decided To Include Caste Data In Census

Last Updated:April 30, 2025, 18:08 IST

BJP sources said previous Congress governments have always opposed a caste-based census as this parameter was not included in operations conducted since independence

Ahead of the assembly elections in Bihar, this major decision by the Narendra Modi-led government is more than a strategic move. (Image: PTI/File)

Alleging that the states ruled by opposition parties have done caste surveys for political reasons, the Centre on Wednesday said the Narendra Modi-led government will include caste enumeration in the forthcoming pan-India census exercise in a “transparent" manner.

During a meeting of the cabinet, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the census comes under the purview of the Centre but some states have done caste enumeration in the name of surveys.

Ahead of the assembly elections in Bihar, where a caste survey was conducted in 2022, this major decision is more than a strategic move. Opposition parties, including the Congress, have been demanding a nationwide caste census making it a major election issue, while some other states like Telangana and Karnataka have also conducted such surveys.

The census exercise was to commence in April 2020 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Congress and the opposition INDIA bloc had made caste census a major poll plank in the previous elections, with Rahul Gandhi promising representation to people based on their population.

‘CONGRESS HAS ALWAYS OPPOSED CASTE-BASED CENSUS’

According to BJP sources, the government’s decision reflects its commitment to the values and interests of the society and country, much in the same way the reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) was introduced without causing stress in any other section.

The BJP sources said previous Congress governments have always opposed a caste-based census as this parameter was not included in operations conducted since independence. It was in 2010, then prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of a caste census will be considered by the cabinet, they said.

The sources said a team of ministers was formed to consider the subject. A majority of the political parties had recommended caste census, they said.

They further said despite this, the Congress decided to conduct only a survey instead of a caste census – the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC). But, it is well understood that the Congress and its INDIA bloc allies have used caste census only as a political tool, they added.

Article 246 of the Constitution states that the census is listed at 69 in the Union List in the Seventh Schedule, making it a Centre subject. But, some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes, the sources said.

While some states have done this well, others have conducted them from a purely political angle in a non-transparent manner, they said. Such surveys have created doubt in society, they added.

Hence, the sources said, considering all these facts and to ensure that the social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the census instead of surveys. This will strengthen the social and economic structure while the nation continues to progress, they said.

(With PTI inputs)

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