Discuss the significance of including caste enumeration in Census 2027 for evidence-based policymaking and its implications for social justice.

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) decided on 30 April 2025 to count caste in Census 2027 [1]. Since Independence, the Census has counted only Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The most recent full caste count dates back to 1931. A caste count is a big step towards policy based on data, but its benefits for social justice depend on how the data is collected and used.

Significance for evidence-based policymaking

• Replaces outdated estimates: OBC policy has relied on 1931 Census projections, which the Mandal Commission also used. The new count gives an actual baseline.
• Meets judicial standards: in M. Nagaraj (2006) and Jarnail Singh (2018), the Supreme Court required quantifiable data before granting reservation in promotions. Census data meets that standard.
• Finer targeting: caste can be cross-tabulated with education, housing and assets. This helps target schemes and supports OBC sub-categorisation, which the Rohini Commission examined.
• Reliable collection: caste will be recorded digitally in the Population Enumeration phase [1][2]. Field apps have in-built validation checks [2], and the RG&CCI has asked States to track data quality in real time on CMMS [3].

Implications for social justice

Positive

• Shows which communities are under-represented in jobs, education and assets. This makes it possible to reach the most deprived groups within each category, in line with Articles 15(4), 16(4) and 46.
• Gives a basis for reviewing the 50% ceiling set in Indra Sawhney (1992), using evidence rather than assertion.
• Highlights hard-to-reach groups, such as denotified and nomadic tribes, which coverage-gap tracking can flag early [3].

Concerns

• Identity politics: the data could fuel competing reservation demands and harden caste identities.
• Classification problems: many sub-castes have different names and spellings across States, and people may self-report inaccurately. The SECC 2011 caste data was never fully released because of such problems.
• Privacy: sensitive data stored digitally must be protected under the Census Act, 1948 and the DPDP Act, 2023.

In short, a caste count turns welfare debates based on guesswork into decisions based on evidence. To make it work, the government should publish standardised caste codes, set up an expert committee to classify responses, release the data on time and protect individual records. Used this way, the count can advance the Preamble's goal of social and economic justice and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities) while keeping caste divisions in check.