CNN
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For millions across India, the strict caste system, thousands of years old, still determines much of everyday life, from social circles to dating pools to employment opportunities and schooling.
The Indian government has long argued that there is no social class in the world’s most populous country that banned caste discrimination in 1950.
So it was a surprise when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration announced that castes would be counted for the first time in the upcoming census since 1931, when India was still a British colony.
Counting castes “sures that our social fabrics are not subject to political pressure,” the government said in an April press release. “This ensures that society will become economically and socially stronger, and will continue to advance without hinder the country’s progress.”
This release did not include details on how caste data was collected or when the census would occur (repeatedly delayed from the original 2021 date). However, the announcement revived years of debate about whether counting castes will lift underprivileged groups or raise more established sectors.
Poonam Mutreha, executive director of the Indian Population Foundation, said:
The lack of caste data over the past century means that “we design policies in the darkness and fly blindly, claiming to pursue social justice.” “So the next census will be a historic census.”
The Indian caste system has roots in the Hindu Bible and historically categorized the population into a hierarchy that defines the occupation of the people. Today, many non-Hindus in India, including Muslims, Christians, Jains and Buddhists, also equate with certain castes.
There are several major castes and thousands of subcasts. It worked as a cleaner and discarded pickers, from top Brahmin, a traditional priest and scholar, to Dalits, previously known as “unruly.”
For centuries, the bottom Lang castes – Dalits and marginalized Indigenous Indians – were considered “impurities.” In some cases, they were even prohibited from entering upper caste homes or temples, forcing them to eat and drink from separate tools in common spaces.
After India gained independence from the UK in 1947, it sought to wipe the slate clean and introduce a surge in changes in the new constitution. We have set up castes for specific categories that are used to establish aggressive action assignments and other benefits. Ultimately, it secures 50% of government and location employment in educational institutions of marginalized caste. It also abolished the concept of “uncontrollable” and banned caste discrimination.
The decision to stop counting castes in the census was another part of this mission.
“After independence, the Indian state consciously left the caste list in the census,” Muttreja said. “They think that caste should not be emphasized, and in democracy they automatically become uniform.”
But that didn’t happen. Various studies show that hardlines in caste sectors have softened over time, especially in urban areas, but there is a major gap in the achievement of wealth, health and education between different castes. Today’s most disadvantaged castes have a higher rate of illiteracy and malnutrition, and are less likely to receive social services such as maternal care and reproductive health, Muttreja added.
Social separation is also widespread. According to the Indian Human Development Survey, only 5% of Indian marriages are intercasting. Similar divisions remain in groups of friends, workplaces and other social spaces.
These persistent gaps drive increased demand for caste census, and many argue that data can be used to secure greater federal aid and reallocate resources to the poor.
In some states, such as Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, local governments have conducted their own investigations and are calling on Modi and his Bharatiyajanata Party (BJP) government to follow the lawsuit.
Now it appears they will.
For a long time, Modi pushed back attempts to define populations along traditional caste lines, previously declaring that the four “large castes” were poor, young people, women and farmers.
However, growing dissatisfaction among underprivileged castes has boosted the opposition in the 2024 national election. This had shocking results. Modi won a third term, but the BJP was unable to win a majority in Congress, reducing their strength.
Modi’s U-turn on the caste census claims to be his rival, but in Bihar, the particularly sensitive battlefield, he argues that this is a political manipulation to strengthen support in future state elections.
“The timing is not a coincidence,” writes MK Stalin, the prime minister of Tamil Nadu and a longtime Modi critic, in “This sudden move entails political convenience.”
Bihar’s own caste survey in 2023 found that far more people were in marginalized castes than previously thought, sparking an ongoing legal battle to raise a positive action assignment.
Several other states have undergone their own investigation, but the federal government said in a statement that “it is different in transparency and intentions, and it was done from a purely political angle, creating doubt in society.”
The main opposition Congress party celebrated the government’s announcement and claimed that Modi had succumbed to their pressures. Meanwhile, BJP leaders say the opposition parties failed to conduct caste census during a year in power, and now they have politicized the issue for their own interests.
The previous Congress-led government conducted a national caste survey in 2011, but the full results were never published, and critics argued that the partial findings showed data anomalies and methodological issues. It was also different from the national census that was conducted in the same year. This means that two datasets cannot be analyzed against each other.
Sonalde Desai, a sociology demographer and sociology professor at University of Maryland University Park, said that although authorities did not say when the new census would be held, there was enough time to make sure key information was being collected.
After the census is completed, the next battle begins. How to use that data to form a policy.
Not all agree with the caste census.
Opponents argue that the state should try to move away from these labels rather than formalize them. Instead of focusing on caste, he believes that government policies such as positive action should be based on other criteria, such as socioeconomic class, Desai, also professor of applied economic research in the National Applied Economic Studies in New Delhi.
She supports the caste census, but her opponents said that “transcending its fate” defined by the caste and that, rather than helping to create a society that transcends (the Indians), they may view such investigations as regression.”
There are other factors as well. If the census reveals that marginalized castes are greater than previously thought, as in Bihar, the government can increase the positive behavior they receive, angering traditionally privileged castes who already hate the quota system.
Over the years, protests of violating illegal activities have erupted, and some have become fatal. These groups reflect similar controversy in the US over the government’s condemnation of the opposite discrimination and racially conscious university admissions and employment recruitment. These same groups are likely to condemn the caste census, Muttreja said.
Already, some opposition leaders have removed the 50% cap on positive action allocations and are calling on other agencies, such as private companies and the judiciary, to implement positive action.
But supporters of the caste census say it has been a long time behind. Both Muttreja and SeSai told CNN they do not believe such an investigation would deepen their division.
It may also show how the balance between power and privilege has changed over the past century, Desai said. Since the 1931 census, some previously underprivileged castes may have been supported by positive actions and other measures, but other castes that once sat on a ladder could no longer be considered privileged.
This is the reason why the Indian government should use data to “rerank”; This requires reorganization of which casts belong to the specific category used to allocate resources and benefits.
The census can clearly show who needs what help and how to provide it best. It can reveal intersecting gaps. For example, rural Indian women may have much more difficulties than men of the same caste or urban peers. It also allows you to indicate whether the caste has expanded in size and asks for more funds than is currently allocated.
“For example, you can shape school funding, health outreach, employment schemes and more,” she said. It “helps to ensure that quotas reflect real disadvantages as well as historical precedents.”
Muttreja believes that if that data is there, the government will be forced to act. And for those who still deny that caste discrimination is ramping, or who argue that positive behavior is no longer needed: “This data will stare at people’s faces.”
