The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has finally agreed to conduct the caste census. This will be the first such exercise in independent India as the last caste census was done in 1931 when the country was a colony of the British. Though the previous Congress-led UPA government tried to count caste in its Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) in the last census of 2011, the data on caste population was never published as the UPA lost power in 2014 to the BJP-led NDA whose government, citing anomalies, withheld the data on caste population.

While the populations of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) were counted in the past censuses, the new caste census will count the populations of Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and the general castes (so-called upper castes).

OBCs are the biggest caste bloc, which is a collection of many different castes and sub-castes. The OBCs, who are given 27 per cent reservation in Union government jobs and central educational institutions, believe that they are denied their proper share as their population is much higher than the reservation quota given to them. A caste census will give the population of the OBCs as well details of the many castes and sub-castes within the OBC bloc. It is this reason that the OBCs have been vocal supporters of the caste census.

Now that BJP has agreed for caste census, after being initially reluctant to the idea, the opposition INDIA bloc has claimed credit for this. Additionally, there has been commentary to conclude this as the victory of social justice over BJP’s Hindutva agenda.

While it can’t be........

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