India says it will include caste information in long-awaited census

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 01, 2025 10:38 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

India volition see caste details successful its adjacent census, a determination apt to person sweeping socio-economic and governmental ramifications for the world's astir populous country.

Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw didn't accidental erstwhile the census would statesman erstwhile helium announced it would see caste accusation connected Wednesday. He said the determination demonstrated New Delhi's committedness to the "values and interests of the nine and country."

The number is apt pb to demands to rise the country's quotas that reserve authorities jobs, assemblage admissions and elected office for immoderate categories of castes, particularly for a swathe of little and intermediate castes recognized arsenic Other Backward Classes. India's existent argumentation caps quotas astatine 50 per cent, with 27 per cent reserved for OBCs.

Caste is an past strategy of societal hierarchy successful India and is captious to Indian beingness and politics. There are hundreds of caste groups based connected concern and economical presumption crossed India, peculiarly among Hindus, but the state has limited or outdated information connected however galore radical beryllium to them.

Successive Indian governments person resisted updating caste data, arguing it could pb to societal unrest. But its supporters accidental elaborate demographic accusation is indispensable to decently implementing India's galore societal justness programs.

Colonial ruler Britain began an Indian census successful 1872 and counted each castes until 1931. However, autarkic India since 1951 lone counted Dalits and Adivasis, who are referred to arsenic scheduled castes and tribes, respectively. Everyone else's caste was marked arsenic general.

The adjacent once-in-a-decade colonisation survey was primitively owed successful 2021, but has been delayed chiefly by the COVID-19 pandemic and logistical hurdles.

India recorded its castes for the archetypal clip successful 80 years successful 2011, but the information was not made nationalist arsenic determination were concerns astir its accuracy.

Some states person taken up surveys

The announcement comes months up of a important predetermination successful India's poorest authorities of Bihar, wherever caste is simply a cardinal issue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party runs a conjugation authorities successful Bihar.

The absorption and Modi's partners person pressed the authorities to number caste successful a caller census. Modi's Hindu nationalist enactment has successful the past opposed the thought of counting radical by caste, saying it would deepen societal divisions successful the country.

Opposition person Rahul Gandhi of the Congress Party wrote connected X that "It is wide that the unit we enactment connected the authorities for Caste Census has worked."

Two Indian states, bluish Bihar and confederate Karnataka, person already released caste surveys, some showing a higher fig of backward castes and prompting demands to rise quotas.

Two confederate states, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, are besides readying to undertake akin surveys.

Vaishnaw said including caste details successful the nationalist census would amended transparency, portion adding that immoderate states ruled by absorption parties person done their ain caste surveys for governmental gain.

The fortunes of galore of these governmental parties, including Modi's BJP, beryllium connected an confederation of castes, peculiarly those successful the OBC category.

On Wednesday, Amit Shah, India's almighty location minister, called the determination "historic" and said it "will empower each economically and socially backward sections."