Caste based Census

Caste based Census

News: Recently, The Bihar government released figures of Caste survey conducted in the state of Bihar.

Background:
• The first caste-based census in India was conducted in 1871 during colonial times.
• The last Caste enumeration was done in 1931 census.
• In independent India, every Census from 1951 to 2011 has published data on Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), but not on other castes1. The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) was conducted in 2011, which was the largest exercise of listing castes and has the potential for finding inequalities at a broader level

What is Caste based Census?
• A caste-based census is a survey that collects data on the economic status and other caste-related information of every Indian family, both in rural and urban areas.

Key Findings of Bihar caste survey
• Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) constitute more than 63% of the population of Bihar.
• Bihar’s current population, according to the survey, is 13,07,25,310, of which OBCs are 3,54,63,936 (27%) and EBCs are 4,70,80,514 (36%).
• The so-called “forward” castes or “General” category is only 15.5% of the population.
• The data also shows that there are about 20% (2.6 crore) Scheduled Castes (SCs), and just 1.6% (22 lakh) Scheduled Tribes (STs).

What are the advantages/need of Caste based census?
• Understanding Social Inequality: It can help understand the extent of social inequality in the country.
• Affirmative Action: It can address the issue of affirmative action by providing data on the population of various castes.
• Identifying and Addressing Discrimination: The data can be used to identify and address discrimination faced by certain castes. Indira Sawnhey judgment of SC had demanded that such evidence be collected every 10 years to screen out privileged castes from benefits of reservation.
• Targeted Development Programs: The census can facilitate targeted development programs for specific castes.
• Database for Research: The data collected can serve as a valuable resource for research.

What are the drawbacks of caste based census?
• The data collected may become a weapon for deepening faultlines and increasing polarization to win elections.
• Caste census would lead to a clamour for higher quotas, and removal of 50% cap on reservation.
• It will further strengthen caste-based politics in India.
• Data Accuracy: There can be issues with data accuracy due to self-declaration of caste and variant spellings of the same caste.
• Social Fragmentation: There’s a risk that it could lead to social fragmentation and caste enmities.

Conclusion
• In a changing India, in which education and technology are important equalizing forces, caste-based affirmative action, fine-tuned with the help of caste numbers, can spur larger conversations on aspiration and ambition, freedom and opportunity, and the need for ecosystem in which citizens are neither unfairly privileged nor straitjacketed by their identities.