What Is Caste Census And How Will It Affect You?

India approves caste census amid political tug-of-war. Will it empower OBCs or fuel vote-bank politics? Key challenges and history explained. Read more on

New Delhi: On one hand, strict action is being taken against those who commit violence in the name of religion in the country, on the other hand, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Munir are full of restlessness. They have lost their sleep at night, and they are taking decisions in the shadow of fear.

Meanwhile, a decision of the central government has again heated up the caste debate in the country. Kabirdas ji had said - "Do not ask the caste of a sadhu, ask his knowledge" - but now the government is going to ask about the caste, reports Dynamite News correspondent. The cabinet has decided to conduct a caste census, after which there is a race among political parties to take credit.

Political competition: Who put pressure?

Congress claims that the government had to bow down due to the continuous pressure of Rahul Gandhi. At the same time, BJP says that this is their historic decision and Congress had stopped the caste census in 2010. RJD's Lalu Yadav has also called it his victory. But the question is, "When will this census be conducted? Is the timeline fixed?"

Rahul Gandhi raised the question – "Modi ji used to say that there are only four castes in the country, then why did he suddenly announce the census?"

How will the census be done?

• This time the census will be digital and technology-based.
• AI and geo-fencing will be used.
• Data will be collected by going door to door, not online.
• 30+ questions will be asked, such as - electricity, gas, education, vehicle etc. in the house.
• OBC column will be added, which was not there earlier.

Has caste census been done before? Caste-based census was done from 1881 to 1931. After 1941, Nehru, Patel and Ambedkar stopped it considering it "harmful to the society". Socio-economic census was conducted in 2011, but caste data was not made public.

Big challenges

The same caste comes under OBC, SC or General category in different states. It is not clear whether Muslim castes will be counted or not. There is also a fear of misuse of data.

This decision of the government is historic, but it is not clear "when and how". Political parties are busy taking credit, but the real question is whether this will provide justice to the deprived? If the census data is used properly, then schemes can be made for the poor, otherwise it will only become a new weapon of "caste politics".