Caste In the Census Mould

In 1931, when the last caste census was conducted, column eight in the general schedule provided for an entry of “caste, tribe or race”. The Census, undertaken during British rule in India, estimated Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to be 52 per cent of the population, which then stood at approximately 27 crore. This data shaped the Mandal Commission’s recommendations for reservations for OBCs in education and government jobs.

The 1931 Census estimated Brahmins to be the single-largest group, followed by Jatavs. Faced with criticism about the Census taking note of caste, British-born anthropologist JH Hutton, who was then Census Commissioner, wrote in his book Census of India that it is difficult to see why the record of a fact that actually exists should tend to stabilise that existence. “It is just as easy to argue, and with at least as much truth, that it is impossible to get rid of any institution by ignoring its existence like the proverbial ostrich. In spite of the recognition of caste in previous decades the institution is of itself undergoing considerable modification. Indeed the treatment of caste at the 1931 census may claim to make a definite, if minute, contribution to Indian unity.”

Over nine decades later, the Narendra Modi government has drawn out a roadmap for Census, which will include caste enu­meration. The exercise is to begin in October 2026.

“It has been decided to conduct Population Census-2027 in two phases along with enumeration of castes,” an official state­ment said. The first phase will be held in the hilly and snow-prone areas of the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir and states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The second phase, beginning March 1, 2027, will cover the rest of the country.

The announcement came around a month after the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) gave its ap­proval for conducting a caste census. The Opposition has been demanding a caste census, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being most vocal on the issue and promising a caste census if his party came to power.

caste censusdemographyIndian politicsIndian population