Caste census: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Wednesday that the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided to include caste enumeration in the upcoming national census. No census conducted since 2011 in India.

Caste census is a move to empower economically weaker section. This move marks a significant policy shift, as caste data has not been collected in the census since 1931.

Vaishnaw emphasised that the caste census is a matter under the Union government’s jurisdiction, and parallel surveys conducted by individual states often create confusion and discrepancies.

Vaishnaw also hit out at the Opposition for politicising caste census.

“Congress governments have always opposed the caste census. In 2010, the late Dr Manmohan Singh said that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most of the political parties have recommended a caste census. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct a survey of caste or a caste census. It is well understood that Congress and its INDI alliance partners have used the caste census only as a political tool. Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes. While some states have done this well, some others conducted such surveys only from a political angle in a non-transparent way. Such surveys created doubts in society. To ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be included in the census instead of surveys….”

Union Minister Nityanand Rai posted on X, praising the Cabinet’s decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming Census. He said the move reflects the Modi government’s commitment to inclusive development. Rai also recalled the smooth implementation of 10% reservation for economically weaker sections as proof of social harmony.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a post on X said that the United Front government, during his tenure as Janata Dal president, had approved a caste census in 1996–97, a move later scrapped by the Vajpayee-led NDA. He highlighted efforts with leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Sharad Yadav to push for caste census during the 2011 census, leading to a socio-economic survey under Manmohan Singh. Yadav credited the first caste survey in Bihar to the Mahagathbandhan’s short tenure. He asserted that socialist ideas like caste census and equality, once ridiculed, are now widely accepted, vowing to continue pushing the ideological agenda against the BJP.

Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy welcomed the inclusion of caste census in the national count, crediting Telangana’s initiative and Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra for highlighting the need. He thanked Prime Minister Modi and the Cabinet, calling it the realisation of Rahul Gandhi’s long-standing vision for social justice.

Reddy says, “This initiative comes from the state of Telangana, which has done a caste census recently. Rahul Gandhi, who conducted the Bharat Jodo Yatra, noticed the need for a caste census. We are thankful to Narendra Modi ji and the Cabinet ministers for accepting this. This is what our leader, Rahul Gandhi, dreamed about. We are happy to see his dream being fulfilled.”

“During my tenure as national president of Janata Dal, our United Front government in Delhi had taken a decision in 1996-97 from the cabinet to conduct caste census in the 2001 census, which was later not implemented by the Vajpayee government of NDA. We raised a strong demand in Parliament for caste census again in the 2011 census. I, late Mulayam Singh ji, late Sharad Yadav ji stalled the Parliament for several days over this demand and later allowed the Parliament to function only after the Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh ji assured to conduct a socio-economic survey. The first caste survey in the country was also conducted in Bihar during our 17-month-long Mahagathbandhan government. What we socialists think about 30 years ago like reservation, caste census, equality, fraternity, secularism etc. are followed by others decades later. When we demanded caste census, we got a befitting reply from those who called us casteist. There is still a lot left. We will keep making these Sanghis dance to our agenda,” read Lalu Prasad Yadav’s post.