New Delhi, August 25: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have expressed serious concerns regarding the current methodology of the caste census in a joint letter to Prime Minister Modi. They have called for the cancellation of the existing questionnaire and the creation of a new one based on a verified list of castes.
In a post on the social media platform X, Kharge stated, “Accurate counting of castes is not possible through open-ended questions. If the same caste is recorded under different names and sub-castes, the data will be fragmented, adversely affecting OBCs, extremely backward classes, and marginalized communities. Our demand is clear: the current questionnaire must be scrapped, a new one should be developed based on a verified list of castes, and extensive consultations with political parties, experts, and the public should be conducted. The practical solution is to base the census on a pre-prepared and verified caste list, similar to the caste surveys in Telangana and Bihar. The caste census must not only occur but also be accurate.”
In their letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Gandhi and Kharge wrote, “Social justice policies in India cannot be effectively implemented without accurate data. A proper assessment of the number of different castes and their socio-economic status is only possible with an accurate counting of castes. Your government has chosen an open-ended question format for recording caste information in the census, which is misleading. Each individual will have their caste name recorded as they state it.”
The Congress leaders further noted, “In India, the same caste is known by different names, sub-castes, and languages across various regions. If individuals from the same caste are recorded under different names in the census, it will lead to fragmentation, resulting in thousands of caste names emerging. The entire dataset obtained from the caste census will become unusable. If the actual number of a community is not recorded correctly, assessing its situation will also be flawed. This will adversely impact backward, extremely backward, and other marginalized communities, affecting decisions related to education, employment, and social justice. Furthermore, it will not reveal the actual population of OBCs, as the term ‘backward class’ is not even included in this census.”
They proposed a straightforward solution: “A drop-down list of castes should be created. This method is already used for counting Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Such a list can be easily compiled based on existing government lists, like the social and educational backward classes list and the Indian Anthropological Survey. The same methodology was adopted in the caste surveys of Telangana and Bihar. The caste lists from both surveys are attached to this letter for reference. We do not accept the caste census being conducted in this manner. The government should cancel the current questionnaire and engage in discussions with political parties, experts, and the public to prepare a new questionnaire so that the accurate numbers of every caste and community are revealed, making the caste census precise, meaningful, and beneficial.”
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