Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to integrate caste census with decadal census.
Chief Ministers of south Indian states
On Wednesday, 26 June the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous resolution urging the Union government to undertake a caste-based census in addition to the next population census.
CM MK Stalin’s letter to PM Modi on the resolution stressed the importance of precise demographic statistics in creating policies that provide equal rights and opportunities for all Indians in the fields of education, the economy, and jobs.
The resolution 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. This House, therefore, unanimously urges the Union Government to immediately commence the census work, which is due from the year 2021, along with caste-based population census.”
In this backdrop, we take a look which states in south India are likely to have caste census and the measures taken by respective governments in this regard.
In Andhra Pradesh, the possibility of a caste census is unclear because the new administration hasn’t made a decision yet. Plans for a caste-based survey was initiated by the former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government on 9 January, 2024.
The intended survey was supposed to take place in two stages, but it ran into problems due to logistical issues and political scrutiny. The procedure was further complicated by opposition parties like the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena, which expressed concerns and accused the Jagan-led government of having hidden objectives.
The census was planned to be conducted in two phases. The first phase was set to take place from 19 to 28 January of this year and the second phase was to take place from 29 January to 2 February. Staff members from the ward and village secretariats were to assist with collecting data by utilising a dedicated mobile application.
Unfortunately, the project fell behind schedule and general elections took administrative attention away from the census, resulting in it coming to a standstill. The caste census’s future is now uncertain due to the change in political leadership and the present government has not decided whether to resume or modify the effort.
The Telangana government is gearing up to launch a comprehensive caste census initiative from July. This will mark a significant step towards gathering detailed demographic data across the state. The decision comes following extensive deliberations and preparatory measures undertaken by state authorities.
The State Commission for Backward Classes is set to finalise its process report by the end of June. They have outlined the methodology and logistics for conducting the caste census. This crucial step will ensure a systematic and inclusive approach to gathering socio-economic data from households across Telangana.
The state cabinet, on 5 February had cleared the proposal for the caste census and allocated ₹150 crore for its implementation, a move which was endorsed by a unanimous resolution passed in the Legislative Assembly.
Officials plan to conduct a door-to-door survey in order to obtain accurate and comprehensive information. The initiative is part of the Congress party’s electoral promises.
The survey will encompass all communities, including Muslims to reflect a broad-based approach to understanding socio-economic dynamics and ensure inclusive development strategies. The BC Commission drew lessons from states like Karnataka and Bihar on how to conduct the survey.
Preparations include formulating a detailed questionnaire with 53 questions aimed at capturing comprehensive socio-economic background of respondents.
The much awaited and politicized socio-economic and education survey report was submitted to CM Siddaramaiah on 29 February this year by the Chairman of the state’s Backward Classes commission, K Jayaprakash Hegde. This took place ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Commissioned by Siddaramaiah during his first term as the CM of Karnataka in 2015, the survey covered over 13 million households comprising over 59 million residents across the state.
Around 13,500,772 houses were covered in the survey and details from 59,814,942 people across the state were collected. K Jayaprakash Hegde was quoted saying that the report runs into 292 pages and that it was not based on a sample survey but based on an actual survey of most of the population of the state.
54 data points were collected from residents in the survey which included religion, caste, occupation, income, expenditure, education, economical condition, assets, debts, and movable properties.
According to many reports, the findings could challenge the dominance of the Lingayat sect and Vokkaliga community as the largest voting blocks in the state. Reports published over the last few years puts Scheduled Castes as the most populous in the state, followed by Muslims. Lingayats come next, followed by Vokkaligas and then other castes.
Hence there is stiff opposition from the Lingayat and Vokkaliga groups, which claim the report is unscientific.
Kerala is yet to decide on conducting it as debates over socio-economic and caste census persists. The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has maintained that such a census would be most effective if conducted alongside the national census.
The issue of caste census was previously raised in the Kerala Assembly, when Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader MK Muneer argued that the state has the authority to conduct a caste census under the 105th Amendment of the Constitution. However, then-Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes K Radhakrishnan, who is now an MP, informed the Assembly that the data collected would lack value without the context provided by a nationwide census. He emphasised that ideally, a caste census should be conducted in conjunction with the national census.
The matter remains unresolved as it is currently sub judice. Two organisations – Manava Aikya Vedi Minority Indians and Planning and Vigilance Commission Trust – have approached the Supreme Court regarding this issue. The state government is awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision to clarify its stance on the caste census.
The state had informed the Supreme Court it had no plans to conduct a caste survey in the state. An affidavit by it stated, “Since the data on socio-economic classes were already compiled by the Centre in 2011, the state government was of the opinion that the same be collected from the Centre. The Centre was equally bound to conduct a caste survey and identify backward classes.”
In 1951, there was 16 percent reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and 25 percent for other backward classes (OBC) in Tamil Nadu.
In 1971, Karunanidhi regime increased the percentage of reservation to OBCs, SCs and STs to 31 and 18 percent respectively. In a radical move during his third regime, Karunaidhi-led DMK government creating a separate category for Most Backward Classes with an exclusive reservation of 20 percent. Until then, they were grouped with OBCs.
Interestingly, Tamil Nadu conducted a caste census as early as 1980s but the findings were controversial. And even now, it continues to kindle debates in political circles.
(Edited by Neena)
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