India’s decision to conduct a full caste census in 2027 marks a profound turning point in how the nation confronts its most enduring social hierarchy. For the first time in nearly a century, the state will attempt to record every caste and sub-caste across the country, an exercise that promises to illuminate long-suppressed inequalities but also risks hardening the very divisions it seeks to address. The debate around caste enumeration is as complex as the system itself. Advocates of the census argue that a democracy cannot claim to ensure equality while operating with data blindness. For decades, reservations in education and public employment have relied on assumptions drawn from colonial-era classifications and partial surveys.

The absence of comprehensive, verifiable data has allowed privilege to masquerade as disadvantage and left many genuinely deprived communities undercounted or ignored. A........

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