A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO THE CASTE CENSUS

What have the Bihar caste survey and Telangana's 2025 caste survey revealed? How is a social management approach different from top-down welfare models? Would a caste census deepen social divide and undermine national unity? What about democratic accountability?

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The story so far: The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Modi, has decided to conduct caste enumeration in the upcoming Census. As per Article 246 of the Constitution, the Census is a Union subject listed in the 7th schedule. The caste census must be viewed beyond binaries of "for or against" to envision a more transformative idea as a foundational tool for what might be called a social management approach to governance.

What were the findings from State-level caste censuses?

The Bihar caste survey (2023) found that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Economically Backward Classes (EBCs) together make up over 63% of the population, with EBCs alone at 36.01%. Scheduled Castes (SC) account for 19.65%, and Scheduled Tribes (SC) for 1.68%. The general category comprises only 15.52%. Additionally, over 34% of Bihar's families live on less than ₹200 per day, with nearly 44% of SC households below that line.

In Telangana's 2025 survey, Backward Classes (BCs) constituted 56.33% of the population, with BC Muslims forming a substantial 10.08%. These numbers reveal a stark reality: India's marginalised communities form the majority but are significantly underrepresented in education, employment, and governance.