Is Caste-Based Census an Empowerment Tool or a Catalyst for Division?

As political leaders revive caste-based counting, the promise of empowerment risks being overshadowed by a dangerous drift from the goal of true social equality.

When political self-interest begins to sit atop the shoulders of societal welfare, the chasm of social inequality only deepens. Hostility among castes and communities intensifies, and eventually, this gives rise to social anarchy. In India, a determined movement to annihilate caste was initiated with the hope that if caste could be eradicated, social inequality would significantly reduce. Brotherhood would flourish, and the dream of a progressive society could become a reality.

However, instead of bolstering this movement with moral and ideological strength, political leadership chose to pit castes and religions against one another for electoral gains. As a result, caste identities have grown sharper. And now, sounding the trumpet of a caste-based census adds yet another layer of complexity to this volatile mix. What exactly will this census achieve? How will society benefit from it? These remain unanswered questions. But one thing is clear — it will widen the existing social disparity gap. Hence, even as the nation makes economic strides, this move may well push it toward greater social unrest.

Caste-based enumeration dates back to the 19th century in India. The outcomes of those early experiments were stark — rather than fostering unity, they sowed division, leading to the eventual discontinuation of such censuses. Today, only Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are counted in official statistics. The broader categorisation of so-called "upper castes" and Other Backward Classes was halted.

Notably, even in the second decade of the 21st century, the UPA government under Dr. Manmohan Singh undertook a similar exercise. However, Singh — a globally respected economist — recognised the potential perils in the data and shelved the file. Ironically, the same Congress party that then closed the door on a caste-based census is now vocally championing it, with party scion Rahul Gandhi aggressively advocating it as if it were the sole path to India’s development. In interviews across Indian and international media, Gandhi projected the census as a panacea for social justice.

At that time, the BJP-led government under Narendra Modi opposed caste-based enumeration. Yet, surprisingly, just before the Bihar assembly elections, the Centre announced support for such a census — a move widely considered a strategic attempt to counter the opposition. In this game of political one-upmanship, the core issue of social inequality has been sidelined conveniently.

Census operations in India have continued uninterrupted. British civil servant John Henry Hutton, who served as Census Commissioner during the colonial era, is often credited with initiating caste-based enumeration. Hutton’s anthropological work on the Naga tribes and his observations on India's caste structure remain well known. But how many castes are there in India today? Even the proponents of such a census and their political patrons may not have a clear answer.

One survey pegs the number of castes and sub-castes at a staggering 4.5 million. One can only imagine how sharply defined these identities are. Making caste-wise population data public could very likely lead to further fragmentation, sparking new battles over representation and entitlements, rather than promoting unity.

Behind the renewed push for a caste census lies a clear electoral calculus. The formula is simple: more population, more benefits. In princely Kolhapur, RajarshiShahu Chhatrapati implemented a caste census in the early 20th century, aligning representation in local governance accordingly. But that effort had a progressive social vision behind it. Today’s census, however, is unlikely to be so well-intentioned, especially given how much influence ruling regimes exert over bureaucratic machinery.

Previously, three states undertook caste-based censuses enthusiastically. However, the results came as a rude shock to many — the assumed population figures of certain communities turned out to be lower than expected, impacting their share in reservations.

So, the question stands: will India plunge into a numbers game of percentages and proportions, or will it strive to dismantle the caste structure altogether — to lift the toiling, marginalised, and neglected classes out of social disparity? Even though a caste-based census may seem like a tool for empowerment, it risks becoming a dangerous detour in the fight against inequality.

(The author is a senior journalist based in Kolhapur. Views personal.)