Modi’s Caste Census Announcement: A Bold Move Amid UPA’s Failed Bid and Controversial Inaccuracies
In mid-2010, as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government navigated its second term, a surprising call emerged from key allies—Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party, and Janata Dal (United)—demanding a caste headcount in the upcoming 2011 census. This issue highlighted a stark divide: while the Congress party and the main opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), lacked a definitive stance on the matter, certain leaders from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) within both parties expressed support for a caste census.
The Home Ministry, led by P. Chidambaram, cautioned against including caste as a census question, arguing that logistical challenges could jeopardize the accuracy of the data. The ministry warned of potential distortions not only to caste data but also to the overall population count, stating, “Population Census is not the ideal instrument for collection of details on caste,” and emphasizing operational difficulties that could compromise data integrity.
Despite these concerns, socialist parties in the Hindi heartland, reliant on OBC support, pressed forward, not only advocating for a caste count but also opposing the women’s reservation bill unless it incorporated provisions for caste and community quotas. Under increasing pressure, the government consented to a parliamentary debate on the caste census, with a noticeable shift among BJP leaders towards supporting the idea.
On May 6 and 7, 2010, discussions in Parliament revealed these divisions, yet a significant majority, including many BJP representatives, backed a caste census. This prompted a reevaluation by the UPA government, with the Home Ministry softening its opposition and suggesting that a caste count could take place after aggregating census figures during the National Population Register’s biometric capture phase.
By May 27, the contentious issue was handed over to a Group of Ministers led by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, which was similarly divided but ultimately sought input from all political factions. This engagement culminated in a decision to conduct the caste headcount that September.
In June 2011, the Ministry of Rural Development launched the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), tasked with assessing the socio-economic standing of approximately 25 crore households across urban and rural areas, coordinated under the auspices of the Ministry of Home Affairs. However, this ambitious enumeration faced persistent delays, missing multiple deadlines, and by the end of 2012, though enumeration was completed, the data remained unfinalized until late 2013.
As the UPA government prepared for the impending 2014 elections, provisional data was tentatively ready, but decision-makers opted to leave its release to the incoming administration, which saw the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) assume power.
In July 2015, the Modi government released provisional SECC data for rural regions but withheld caste statistics, citing incompleteness. By July 2016, it was noted in a Lok Sabha response that caste data had been directed to an upcoming Expert Group for further analysis.
Fast-forwarding to March 2018, the government reported that errors were identified during the processing of caste data, revealing lingering technical issues in data collection. By September 2021, the Home Ministry clarified that, despite having submitted raw caste data for classification, there were no current plans to release it, reinforcing a policy decision to exclude information on castes beyond Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
The government, in a Supreme Court affidavit, cited “technical flaws” in the SECC, claiming an implausibly high count of 46 lakh distinct castes, rendering the census results unreliable. This ongoing saga reflects the complexities of caste politics in India, underscoring the challenges in accurately capturing and classifying the demographic realities of a diverse society.
Original Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/modi-govt-caste-census-rahul-gandhi-modi-9974853/
Category : Political Pulse
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Publish Date: 2025-04-30 17:36:00
