Tamil Nadu CM Stalin writes to PM, asks for caste-based Census to be integrated with national decadal census

“As we are aware, “Census” is a Union subject in Entry-69 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India and the Census operations in the States/UTs are conducted as per the provisions of the Census Act, 1948. Presently, the caste-wise and tribe-wise data of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes alone are enumerated under the Census Act, 1948,” said MK Stalin’s letter to Narendra Modi.

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Laws based socio-economic indicators

For framing policies and targeting specific interventions for the socio-economic development of the underprivileged, census data has always been the basis. In a country like India, socio-economic indicators influence the mobility of various communities. “As caste has historically been a key determinant of the prospects of social progress in our society, it is essential that caste-based socio-economic census data is made available in public domain,” the Chief Minister underscored.

When laws are enacted on the basis of verifiable socio-economic indicators drawn from decadal Census reports, it gets legal validity, he added. “However, no contemporary data is available since the last caste census was conducted in 1931. The need for quantifiable data relating to socio-economic and educational status of various castes, communities, and tribes of the entire population of the State has been emphasised in several of the judgments of the Supreme Court for classification of Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes,” he elaborated.

“Considering all the above, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly today (26 June) passed an unanimous Resolution urging the Union Government to integrate caste-based census with the national decadal census and to commence the census operations immediately. I enclose herewith a copy of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Resolution and I look forward to your personal intervention in this regard,” said the statement shared in CMO handle in ‘X’.

இந்தியாவில் சாதிவாரி மக்கள் தொகை கணக்கெடுப்பை உடனடியாகத் தொடங்க வேண்டியதன் அவசியத்தை வலியுறுத்தி மாண்புமிகு தமிழ்நாடு முதலமைச்சர் @mkstalin அவர்கள் மாண்புமிகு இந்தியப் பிரதமர் @narendramodi அவர்களுக்குக் கடிதம் எழுதியுள்ளார். pic.twitter.com/58RXMsIRNP

— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) June 26, 2024

This comes hours after the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted the resolution moved by CM MK Stalin urging the Union Government to immediately commence the census work, which is due in the year 2021 along with the caste-based population census, this time.

The resolution urging the Union government to immediately start the census work read, “This house considers that caste-based population census is essential to formulate policies, in order to ensure equal rights and equal opportunities in education, economy, and employment to every citizen of India.”

The legislators belonging to various political parties including the BJP supported the resolution which was adopted by the House in the absence of the principal Opposition AIADMK members who were suspended from the Assembly for disrupting the proceedings.

Speaker M Appavu said the resolution was adopted unanimously.

(Edited by Neena)

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