- Count caste, but how exactly?
- Why the controversy over caste-wise statistics in Census 2027?
- Caste-wise enumeration in Census 2027 is a major dilemma
Indian caste census: In India Census 2027 It will be especially important. For the first time after independence, all castes will be recorded in the regular census of the country. However, measuring caste alone is not the main difficulty in this process. A bigger question is the exact caste or social category to which a given caste name should be placed by a person.
How will caste be recorded in Census 2027?
Caste has also been included in the questionnaire released by the Central Government for Census 2027. The tenth question in the questionnaire is about the caste/tribe name of the person. Due to this, information of not only Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) but also other castes is likely to be recorded at this time. However, if a person registers the name of his caste in his own way, then there is a big discussion on how it will be further classified.
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What exactly was the problem in the 2011 caste census?
Socio-Economic and Caste Census i.e. SECC was conducted in 2011. At that time information about caste was also taken from the people. The government had said that about 46 lakh castes, sub-castes, synonyms, surnames, clans and gotras have been recorded in this process. However, these 46 lakh records did not mean that there are actually 46 lakh separate castes in the country. In many places different local names, subcastes, surnames, clans or gotras were recorded for the same social group. Therefore, combining different records of the same social group and classifying them properly became a major administrative and statistical problem.
Establishment of expert group in 2015
In 2015, the central government decided to set up an expert group under the chairmanship of Arvind Panagarhia to categorize the information on caste in SECC-2011. However, the final caste-wise statistics did not emerge from this process in a form that would be available to all. In 2022, the central government had said in the Lok Sabha that there is no proposal to release the caste information from SECC-2011 at present. An important lesson is learned from this—it is not enough to simply ask for a caste name; A standardized and transparent classification of those names is also required.
What if the same group has multiple names?
An example of a society can be seen to understand the dilemma of caste-wise enumeration. If a person records his caste as 'Koiri', another as 'Kachhi', a third as 'Murai', a fourth as 'Shakya' and a fifth as 'Saini', will the administration count all these entries as separate castes?
Or will they be united under a broader social group?
It is because of this question that the method of classification in caste-wise census is very important. If each local name is treated as a separate category, the population of a large social group can be divided into many smaller groups. Conversely, some communities may insist on their separate social identity while all names are subsumed into one broad caste.
Major dilemmas facing Census 2027
1. Difference between caste and subcaste:
A fundamental question would be whether a name should be regarded as a separate caste or a sub-caste of a larger caste group.
2. Local Names:
The same community may have different names in different states or regions.
3. Synonyms:
A standardized method would be necessary to combine the various names used for the same social group.
4. Independent Identity Question:
A community may demand that its local name be registered as a separate caste.
5. Reservation and Government Policies:
Once the caste-wise population statistics are available, various communities are likely to demand reservation and other facilities in proportion to their population.
6. State wise different lists:
In one state a community may be under the OBC category, while in another state it may have a different administrative category.
7. Accuracy of Statistics:
If several names of the same breed are recorded in different ways, they have to be properly consolidated while preparing the final statistics.
What can be learned from Bihar Caste Survey?
A caste based survey was conducted in Bihar in 2023. There an attempt was made to link caste information with administrative and social categories. A system for managing information at various levels such as caste, subcaste, category and corresponding administrative number increases the possibility of administrative classification of different names. Because of this only 'What is your caste?' Rather than asking this question, it seems more important to link the answer to a definite administrative classification.
Why Telangana experience is important?
Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey-2024 was conducted in Telangana. This was followed by a statistical assessment of social backwardness at the level of 242 castes in the official analysis of the state. An attempt was also made to classify the various castes into broad social groups. Backward communities in Telangana are divided into various categories like BC-A, BC-B, BC-C, BC-D and BC-E. Hence, there is an experience of not only listing the caste names but linking them to the social and administrative framework.
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Could there be a repeat of the 2011 crisis?
The Census 2027 scale is much larger than the 2011 survey. Information about caste will be taken from crores of people across the country. Therefore, if there is no clear, uniform and transparent method for classifying castes, subcastes, local names and synonyms, even after collecting large amounts of data, it may take a long time to analyze it.
'How' to measure caste is more important than measuring caste
Census 2027 is likely to be India's first comprehensive national caste-wise data. This data can be used for social policies, reservation, welfare schemes and more effective allocation of resources.
However, the success of this whole process will not depend only on how many people say which caste. The credibility of the final caste-wise statistics will largely depend on how those millions and millions of responses are classified in a scientific, transparent and uniform manner.