Seventy-seven years after Independence, the politics of caste continues unabated—with recent debates on conducting a caste census bringing the issue to the forefront again. It’s one of the many attempts that have been made to create the illusion of an India divided due to its different administrative states, castes, communities, languages, traditions, and attire. Led mostly by the Opposition, it aligns with some foreign powers’ attempts to create such narratives, because they fear India’s development and see their dominance endangered.
It is true that in Independent India, states were created on the basis of language. But this was for the convenience of governance and not for purposes of division. This federal system is why India has been described as a union of states.
In the Vishnu Purana, an ancient Hindu text, India is described as follows: ‘Uttaram yat Samudrasya Himadreh Chaiva Dakshinam. Varsham tad Bharatam naam Bharati yatra santatih‘—the name of that country is Bharatvarsh, which is north of the sea and south of the Himalayas, and the people living in it are called Bharati. We don’t find any mention of divisions and conflicts in our ancient texts. The speciality and beauty of India is its diversity.
See the jyotirlingas (shrines dedicated to Shiva) that exist in different places of the country, and the four dhams (Hindu pilgrimage sites) in the four extreme points of our land—Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram. There are also shaktipeeths (sacred sites in Shaktism) that are spread across the country. All Indians can go on pilgrimage to these sites without any discrimination.
Moreover, for thousands of years, the country has been running continuously under the guidance of its great visionary leaders, spiritual personalities, saints, and rulers. It is one of the few nations in the world that can claim continuity of civilisation. How then can anybody claim that India is not one integrated unit?
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Who wants caste census?
The issue of caste census emerged prominently during the last Parliamentary elections. The principal Opposition party, Congress, was very vocally in favour of it.
While the Census of India has been publishing data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, there has been no survey conducted to put a number to the population of backward classes and groups.
Though this issue has been prominently discussed since the run-up to the 2021 census, it subsided due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But it resurfaced in October 2023, when the Bihar government released its caste survey data.
There is a long history of caste-based data collection in India. It was started by the British and the last such census was published in 1931. They used these surveys to create divisions in Indian society and cement their rule. This is why data of this nature was not collected post-Independence.
Following the spirit of the Constitution, the Government of India in 2021 stated in the Parliament that it had decided, as a matter of policy, not to enumerate caste-wise population—other than SCs and STs in Census. Since then, political parties favouring the caste census have been pushing for their demands to be fulfilled. Recently, the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi stated that the Congress party will ensure that the caste census is conducted.
People belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes are given the benefit of reservation in jobs and education, apart from other schemes meant for them. The Narendra Modi government has also introduced quotas for economically weaker sections (EWS) in government jobs and educational institutions.
The Government of India’s stand that they will not conduct caste-wise census is in the right direction, as it follows the spirit of the Constitution.
As we enter into the 78th year of our Independence, it is clear that we need to support SCs, STs and economically weaker sections through affirmative action for some more time. But the caste census is not the way to go.
The intention of the Opposition is loud and clear. They want to extend these benefits to minorities—Muslims in particular. Their demand for a caste census seems to be guided by narrow electoral interests.
Many state governments, generally ruled by non-NDA parties have already tried to introduce religion-based reservation, for ‘all’ Muslims in government jobs and educational institutions. But they have failed to get the judicial nod for the same, as this quota contradicts Constitutional provisions. However, some states have given quota to a section of Muslims, by including poor Muslims in the OBC category, and Kerala where all Muslims have been categorised as OBC irrespective of their economic or social status. With the caste survey, they can legitimise their unsuccessful attempt to introduce reservation for minorities in general, particularly Muslims, in all states and at the centre.
This is not without a reason. Rahul Gandhi had reportedly said in a rally in Hyderabad: “We will first conduct a nationwide caste census to determine how many people belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and minorities. After that, we will conduct a financial and institutional survey in a historic step to ascertain the distribution of wealth. We will give you whatever is your right”
This demand for a caste census, if accepted, poses many dangers.
First, after carrying out this census, the interested political parties may try to legitimise reservation for all Muslims in jobs and educational institutions with Constitutional amendments, in all states and at the centre. Reservation to ‘all’ Muslims is not allowed in the present framework of the Constitution, as the Constitution of India, doesn’t provide for reservation based on religion. It’s notable that after Andhra Pradesh introduced five per cent reservation for Muslims in 2005, it was quickly struck down by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The Andhra Pradesh government approached the Supreme Court on this matter, where a Constitutional Bench was constituted. The case is still pending.
Second, another dangerous design of those who are proposing a caste-wise survey including minorities is the redistribution of wealth, based on their share in the population (jitni aabadi utna haq). This can cause great damage to the economy, as it would disincentivise people to start their enterprises, create wealth and increase GDP. It may also create disharmony among different groups. This would be a retrograde step for India, an emerging economy that is aspiring to be a developed nation by 2047.
Ashwani Mahajan is a professor at PGDAV College, University of Delhi. He tweets @ashwani_mahajan. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)