From Caste to its Census: What you must know for UPSC Exam
UPSC Issue at a Glance is an initiative of UPSC Essentials to focus your prelims and mains exam preparation on an issue that has been in the news. Every Thursday, cover a new topic in a lucid way. This week's issue is focused on Caste and its census. Let's get started!
If you missed the previous UPSC Issue at a Glance | Trump's 100 days in White House : Greenland, Gulf of Mexico, WHO Exit, and Reciprocal tariffs – All you need to know from the Indian Express, read it here.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) on April 30 approved the inclusion of caste data in the upcoming population census. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made the announcement, underscoring the constitutional framework that makes Census a Union subject. The move revives a long-standing debate over caste-based enumeration and its use in governance, policy, and politics. In this context, it becomes essential for aspirants to understand caste and census from a broader perspective relevant for their upcoming exams.
(Relevance: UPSC Syllabus-General Studies: I, II: Indian Polity and Governance- Constitution of India, Public Policy, Rights Issues, Population and Associated Issues, Government Policies & Interventions, Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes.)
A census is the process of collecting, compiling, analysing, and disseminating demographic, social, and economic data about all individuals in the country at a specific time. There is a constitutional mandate to carry out a census in India. It is mentioned as item 69 on the Union List of subjects, meaning only the Union government is empowered to undertake the exercise. It is also mandated with several references regarding the reorganisation of constituencies for Parliament and state assemblies.
However, the Constitution does not specify when the census should be conducted or how frequently it should take place. The Census of India Act of 1948, which establishes the legal framework for the Census, also lacks details on its timing or periodicity. As a result, there is no constitutional or legal requirement for a census to be conducted every 10 years.
Significance of Census
The Census may not be a legal requirement, but its utility has established it as a regular and essential exercise as it provides a comprehensive overview of the country's demographic, economic, social, and cultural profile. The significance of the census is:
1. It provides primary and authentic data at the village and ward levels for towns that serve as the foundation for all statistical activities, influencing the planning, administration, and economic decision-making processes.
2. Various national and international agencies, scholars and business professionals utilize this data to plan and formulate policies.
3. The data provided by the census forms the basis for every social and economic indicator as relying on outdated data, such as statistics that are 15 years old, is unreliable in a constantly changing environment. This unreliability can disrupt various indicators regarding India and negatively impact the effectiveness of all types of developmental initiatives.
4. The Census provides a foundation for conducting various surveys nationwide. It is essential for making informed decisions based on factual evidence. Democratic processes, like the delimitation of electoral constituencies, as well as affirmative action initiatives, such as reservations, also rely on data from the Census.
After understanding the census and its significance, it becomes crucial to know about the caste and its historical basis, which provides the foundation to understand the ongoing debate regarding the caste census.
The word 'caste' is often used to describe India's unique social system. While social arrangements producing similar effects have existed in other parts of the world, the exact form has not been found elsewhere. According to the NCERT, 'the word 'caste' refers to a broad institutional arrangement that in Indian languages is referred to by two distinct terms, varna and jati.'
Varna (literally 'colour') is the name given to a four-fold division of society into—Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras—with the 'untouchables' placed outside and below this hierarchy. Jati is the word generally used to refer to the institution of caste in Indian languages.
The precise relationship between varna and jati has been the subject of much speculation and debate among scholars. According to the NCERT, 'the most common interpretation is to treat varna as a broad all-India aggregative classification, while jati is taken to be a regional or local sub-classification involving a much more complex system consisting of hundreds or even thousands of castes and sub-castes.' This indicates that although the four varna classification is used throughout India, the jati hierarchy has more local classifications that vary from region to region.
P Chidambaram explains- 'The origins of the Indian caste system lie in varna. Varna is the four-fold division among Hindus — Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra. The lines that divided them were horizontal, hierarchical and unbreachable: once you were born in a Brahmin or Kshatriya or Vaishya or Sudra family, you will remain there for your life and your progeny will remain there for the duration of their lives.' He continues to write, 'Buddhism and Jainism were born out of a revolt against the unbreachable divisions in the Hindu religion.'
Chidambaram wrote, 'Within each varna there were divisions and sub-divisions and each one of them came to represent a caste (jati) or a sub-caste. Each caste or sub-caste became a closed shop; it framed its own tyrannical rules; and violations were punished by exclusion or expulsion.'
'The worst form of caste oppression was untouchability. An 'untouchable' — now called a Dalit — was totally excluded from Hindu society. He was not only lower than the Sudra, the lowest in the varna hierarchy, he was actually outside Hindu society. His role was to serve those who belonged to the varna hierarchy, to fill lower-order occupations like cobbler and undertaker, and to do the 'unclean' jobs such as scavenging and skinning carcasses', wrote Chidambaram in 'Across the aisle- India at 70: The curse of caste', The Indian Express.
Concerning the exact age of the caste system, there are different opinions. However, it is generally agreed that the four varna classification is roughly three thousand years old. According to the NCERT, 'the 'caste system' stood for different things in different periods.'
In its earliest phase, in the late Vedic period, the caste system was really a varna system and consisted of only four major divisions. These divisions were not very elaborate or very rigid, and they were not determined by birth. Movement across the categories seems to have been not only possible but quite common. It is only in the post-Vedic period that caste became the rigid institution.
The demand for a caste census came up before almost every census, as records of debates and questions raised in Parliament show. The demand usually came from among those belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) and other deprived sections. This time, however, things have been quite different. With the Census 2021 delayed several times and opposition parties making the loudest calls for a caste census, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) on April 30 approved the inclusion of caste data in the upcoming population census.
But it's not the first time that caste data will be included in the census. Notably, every census until 1931 had data on caste, and in 1941, caste-based data was collected, but it was never published due to the global crisis of World War II.
Ahead of the first census of independent India, the government chose to avoid the question of caste. Thus, the data collected in censuses since 1951 include the numbers of individuals belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and of various religious denominations, but the members of caste groups other than SCs and STs have not been counted.
In the absence of such a census, there is no proper estimate for the population of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), various groups within the OBCs, and others. The Mandal Commission estimated the OBC population at 52%; some other estimates have been based on National Sample Survey data, and political parties make their own estimates in states and Lok Sabha and Assembly seats during elections.
The recent decision by the central government to reintroduce caste enumeration in the census represents an important development in India's engagement with identity politics and social equity. As a result, the debate surrounding the caste census has resurfaced. In this context, let us explore some of the potential challenges and benefits associated with a caste-based census. The aim is to understand both sides of the argument, drawing on insights from recent articles published in The Indian Express.
Issues associated with Caste Census
'Census classifications have the potential to entrench identities and aggravate social divisions'
One of the major concerns related to the caste census is its negative impact on the country's social fabric. As Alok Bansal and Yashawardhana explain, 'Another reason cited for supporting this (caste census) exercise is that it will help the government shape its policies in line with the aspirations of different groups. But this kind of action might have far-reaching effects and even permanently fracture India's social fabric.
This has been demonstrated by history: during British rule, the inclusion of religion in the census and subsequent creation of separate electorates had a negative impact on social cohesion, eventually resulting in India's partition. Similarly, adding caste to official census data is bound to aggravate social differences, strengthen identity politics, and splinter the country along caste lines. Thus, this is by no stretch of the imagination a harmless exercise.'
It also have been argued that caste census may entrench the caste system and could derail the movement towards the creation of a casteless society. As Alok Bansal and Yashawardhana explain, 'Census classifications have the potential to entrench identities and aggravate social divisions. More significantly, contrary to religion, which continues to have some influence over personal rituals and ceremonies, caste is purely a vestige with no functional relevance in any facet of modern life.
Consequently, in today's India, most youth, especially in urban India, do not identify themselves by their caste and some are not even aware of it. Inter-caste marriages have become the norm and their progenies obviously do not wish to identify themselves with any. Unfortunately, conducting a caste-based Census would force these youth to identify as members of a particular caste, thereby entrenching the caste system.'
Benefits of Caste Census
1. 'Caste census is not mere data collection — it will reshape social identities'
In support of the caste census, it has been argued that it will empower the marginalised sections of society. As Sumeet Mhaskar Prabodhan Pol explains, 'The push for caste enumeration today must be understood as more than a bureaucratic exercise. It is a reckoning with both colonial legacies and deeper historical inequalities based on caste. By exposing disparities in land ownership, education, and employment, a caste census could dismantle the myth of a 'post-caste' India. It has the potential to empower marginalised voices to challenge systemic exclusion.'
They further argue that 'while it (caste census) risks entrenching divisions, its absence allows dominant groups to exploit ambiguities and perpetuate inequity under the guise of formal equality.'
Data on castes in the Census would provide an evidentiary foundation to confront castes not as a relic of the past but as a living structure of power, which demands targeted redressal and not erasure through silence.
2. 'Data does not polarise, distrust does. That is why we need Caste Census'
In support of the caste census, it have been argued that it will help the government shape its policies in line with the aspirations of different groups as it will provide the real picture of the Indian society.
Abhinav Prakash and Priyank Chauhan explain, 'From Indra Sawhney (1992) to the Maratha verdict (2021), the Supreme Court has repeatedly asked governments to produce quantifiable data before extending or fine-tuning quotas. The Mandal Commission, too, based its estimates on 1931 Census numbers and sample surveys. Since then, we have added layers of creamy‑layer exclusions, sub‑quotas, and economic criteria — all without a verifiable data set.
The consequence is two‑fold. First, policy loses legitimacy; anecdotes fill the vacuum where evidence should reside. Second, welfare delivery rewards the better-organised castes while bypassing the most deprived. A credible, disaggregated caste census would allow us to base policy on ground realities, restoring both efficacy and public trust.'
They further explain, 'To frame the caste census as divisive misunderstands both the purpose of democracy and the nature of caste. Division is not caused by recognition; it is caused by systemic invisibility. Invisibility is a privilege enjoyed by those who do not need the state. For the rest, recognition is the first step towards remedy. The various social and political movements of weaker castes, especially those small in number in post-independent India, are aimed at becoming 'visible to the state'.'
3. 'Counting caste in the census is a step toward building fraternity'
Kuriakose Mathew and Arjun Ramachandran writes- 'caste is not just social; it is spatial as well. It tells us not only who someone is, but where they live, whom they live among, whom they avoid, and the distances between different castes. Geography and caste are entangled. The all-caste census will give us the first comprehensive cartography of caste in India — who is clustered where, which jatis cohabit, which ones don't.'
Recording caste irrespective of one's caste is the first step towards people-building in India.
Express View: Government's decision to hold caste census is very welcome–
'The government's decision to hold a caste census with the next population Census is a turning point and a milestone. In a sense, it is the state catching up with the lived socioeconomic and political reality. Caste shapes hierarchy and discrimination, culture and belonging. It plays a role in structuring opportunity and social mobility. It influences choices and trajectories, from education to employment, and rituals of birth, death and marriage.
There is work to be done after the caste census announcement. The design of the questionnaire will be consequential, and there will be the task of connecting the dots between the data and government policy…There are challenges ahead, but the fact that caste will finally be counted provides a robust, data-driven basis for policy and politics.'
Prelims
(1) Consider the following statements about conducting the Caste Census:
1. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) approved conducting a caste census in the upcoming population census.
2. It will be only the second time post-independence.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 only
(b) 1 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
(2) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2009)
1. Between Census 1951 and Census 2001, the density of the population of India has increased more than three times.
2. Between Census 1951 and Census 2001, the annual growth rate (exponential) of the population of India has doubled.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
(3) Consider the following statements with reference to the census in India:
1. The first All India Census was attempted in 1872.
2. From 1881, decennial censuses became a regular feature.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC-CDS(II) – 2024)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
(Note: The aspirants should also refer to the questions from other competitive exams conducted by the UPSC which might be useful for UPSC–CSE.)
(4) Which of the following articles of the Constitution of India provides for promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections?
(a) Article 45
(b) Article 47
(c) Article 48
(d) Article 46
Mains
Why is the delayed census a matter of concern?
(Sources: Cabinet approves caste Census, Caste: how a Spanish word, carried by the Portuguese, India at 70: The curse of caste, Social institutions continuity and change-NCERT, Why a caste Census is not 'harmless', Caste census is not mere data collection, Counting caste in the census is first step towards building fraternity, Data does not polarise, distrust does. That is why we need Caste Census)
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Roshni Yadav is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She is an alumna of the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she pursued her graduation and post-graduation in Political Science. She has over five years of work experience in ed-tech and media. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. Her interests lie in national and international affairs, governance, economy, and social issues. You can contact her via email: roshni.yadav@indianexpress.com ... Read More
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