Counting caste: census data and the caste census

Detail

What the Census counts today

• Census: a count of every person in the country. It gathers demographic, social, cultural and economic data about them [2].
• It is a Union subject. It is entry 69 of the Union List in the Seventh Schedule [2].
• It runs under the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990 [2].

• Section 15 of the Act keeps each person's answers secret. They cannot be released under the RTI Act or used as evidence in court [2].

• Religion: recorded exactly as each person states it. This includes "no religion".

• Scheduled Castes (SCs): 16.6% of the population (Census 2011).
• SCs are the Dalits, groups once treated as "outcaste" in the Hindu caste order.

• The President notifies the SC list for each state under Article 341.

• Scheduled Tribes (STs): 8.6% of the population (Census 2011).

• STs are the Adivasis, communities that often live secluded in hills and forests.

• Their list is notified under Article 342.

• Other Backward Classes (OBCs) are not counted by the Census. Only estimates exist:

• NSS 2004-05: about 41%.

• Mandal Commission (1980): 52%, projected from 1931 census data. It was set up under Article 340 (the President may appoint a commission to study backward classes).

• NCERT: SCs, STs and OBCs together make up about two-thirds of the population and about three-fourths of Hindus.

• NCERT cartoon: it asks whether talking about caste promotes casteism (treating caste as the only basis of community). Or will caste disappear if we stay quiet about it?

History of caste counting

Period	What was counted
1865-1872	First population count, not done at the same time everywhere [2]
1881	First synchronous census (the whole country counted at the same time). Caste was counted [2]
1881-1931	Caste was counted in every census. 1931 was the last full caste count
1941	Caste data were collected but not tabulated (not compiled into tables)
1951-2011	As a policy choice, only SCs and STs were counted [2]
2027	All castes will be counted again [2]

• The 2021 Census could not be held on time because of COVID-19. Census 2027 will be the 16th census overall and the 8th since Independence [2].

Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC)

• SECC 2011: a door-to-door survey of households. It was not done under the Census Act.

• It was run by the Ministry of Rural Development (rural areas) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (urban areas).

• Socio-economic data: provisional rural data were released in 2015 [3].

• These data are used to choose beneficiaries for PMAY-G (Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana–Gramin, rural housing) and Ayushman Bharat (health insurance).

• Caste data were never published.

• The survey returned about 46 lakh different caste or sub-caste names, synonyms, surnames, clan and gotra names [4].
• In July 2015, the Cabinet set up an Expert Group under Arvind Panagariya (then Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog) to classify these names [4].

• The government later told Parliament that all SECC data except caste had been finalised and published. It said there was "no proposal to release the caste data" [5].

• Lesson: asking an open question ("What is your caste?") with no fixed list gives you millions of names that cannot be compared. The same problem awaits Census 2027.

State caste surveys

• Why "survey" and not "census": only the Union can hold a census (entry 69, Union List) [2]. So states run caste surveys under their own powers.
• Bihar caste survey (2023):

Group	Share of population
Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs)	36.01%
Backward Classes (BCs)	27.12%
Scheduled Castes	19.65%
Scheduled Tribes	1.68%
Unreserved (general)	15.52%

• EBCs + BCs = 63.13%. This is well above Mandal's 52% estimate.
• Patna High Court (August 2023): upheld the survey as valid.
• What followed: Bihar raised caste reservation to 65% → the Patna High Court struck down the increase in June 2024 → the main reason was that it crossed the 50% ceiling.

• 50% ceiling: the rule from Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) that reservations should normally not exceed 50% of seats.

• Karnataka: the Kantharaj Commission survey (2015) was later finalised in the Jayaprakash Hegde report (2024). The report was not acted on, and a fresh re-survey was held in 2025 (verify current).

• Telangana (2024-25): its survey found BCs at more than half the population. The state then moved to give BCs 42% reservation in local bodies (verify current).

Census 2027: the decision and timeline

• Decision: on 30 April 2025, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) decided to count castes in Census 2027 [2].
• Notification: the government's intention to hold the census was notified in the Gazette of India on 16 June 2025 [2].
• Budget: ₹11,718.24 crore [2].
• Administrative boundaries frozen: as on 1 January 2026, so districts and towns do not change during the count [2].

Phase	What happens	When
Phase I: Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO)	Lists every building and household, with housing conditions, amenities and assets. Builds the frame for Phase II	April-September 2026. Each state or UT gets a 30-day window, plus an optional 15-day self-enumeration period before it. Phase I was notified on 7 January 2026 [2]
Phase II: Population Enumeration (PE)	Details of each person: demographic, socio-economic, cultural, migration and fertility. Caste is counted here	February 2027 [2]
Snow-bound areas	Phase II held early	September 2026, for Ladakh and snow-bound areas of J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand [2]

• Reference date ("Census Moment"): the exact time at which the count is fixed. It decides who is included [2].
• 00:00 hours on 1 March 2027 for most of India [2].

• 00:00 hours on 1 October 2026 for Ladakh and the snow-bound areas of J&K, HP and Uttarakhand [2].

• India's first digital census [2]:

• Enumerators use a mobile app that works offline, on Android and iOS, in 16 languages.
• The Census Management & Monitoring System (CMMS) portal tracks progress in near real time.
• Self-enumeration: households can fill in their own details on an online portal (se.census.gov.in) in 16 languages. They get a Self-Enumeration ID, and the enumerator checks the details during the house visit.

• Data centres are designated as Critical Information Infrastructure (CII), a legal status that brings stricter protection rules.

• Scale: about 31 lakh enumerators and supervisors [2].

The debate: should caste be counted?

Case for:

• Better welfare targeting: schemes can reach the groups that are actually poorest.
• Sub-classification (splitting a reserved category into smaller groups so the most backward also get a share):
• The Rohini Commission was set up on 2 October 2017 under Article 340 to study sub-categorisation of OBCs in the Central List [6].
• It was asked to correct errors in the OBC list, check how unequally reservation benefits were shared, and design criteria for sub-categories [6].
• It submitted its report to the President on 31 July 2023 [6].

• Without caste-wise population data, such work rests on old 1931 figures.

• Testing the 50% ceiling: fresh data would show whether reservation matches each group's share of the population.

Case against:

• It may entrench caste identity, which is exactly the fear raised by NCERT's cartoon.
• Classifying thousands of names is hard. SECC 2011 produced about 46 lakh names [4].
• It may trigger competitive mobilisation: groups compete to be counted as more numerous or more backward.

Political link: the first census after 2026 will set off two more changes (Section 4):

• Delimitation: redrawing constituencies and seat numbers under Articles 82 and 170. The freeze on seats lasts until the first census after 2026.
• Women's reservation: under the 106th Amendment (2023), Article 334A, one-third reservation for women starts only after the delimitation that follows this census.

Prelims Hooks

• Census is entry 69 of the Union List (Seventh Schedule). It is governed by the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990. Section 15 keeps individual data secret, even from RTI.
• 1931 was the last full caste count. In 1941 caste data were collected but not tabulated. From 1951 to 2011, only SCs and STs were counted.
• Census 2011: SCs 16.6%, STs 8.6%. OBCs were not counted. "No religion" is recorded as stated.
• Trap: SECC 2011 was not held under the Census Act. Its caste data were never released. Its socio-economic data are used for PMAY-G and Ayushman Bharat.
• CCPA, 30 April 2025: decided on caste enumeration. Caste is counted in Phase II (Population Enumeration), not Phase I (Houselisting).
• Reference date: 1 March 2027 generally; 1 October 2026 for Ladakh and snow-bound J&K, HP and Uttarakhand.
• Census 2027 is the 16th census overall and the 8th since Independence. It is the first digital census and offers self-enumeration.
• Article 340: basis of both the Mandal Commission (52% OBC estimate) and the Rohini Commission (OBC sub-categorisation, report 31 July 2023).
• Bihar 2023: EBCs 36.01% were the largest bloc. The Patna High Court upheld the survey (August 2023) but struck down the 65% quota (June 2024).

Mains Points

• Data for justice vs. entrenching identity: caste data can make reservation and welfare evidence-based (sub-classification, the Rohini exercise). The SECC 2011 failure, with about 46 lakh unclassified names, shows the need for a pre-fixed caste code list and for linking names to state OBC lists before counting.
• Union vs. state powers: only the Union can hold a census. State surveys (Bihar, Karnataka, Telangana) filled the gap but gave figures that cannot be compared with each other. A national count makes data uniform, but states will press for quotas beyond 50% based on it.
• Census as a political trigger: Census 2027 links caste data to delimitation (Articles 82, 170) and women's reservation (Article 334A, 106th Amendment). It will reshape representation along caste, gender and regional lines at once (GS-II).
• Reform ideas: publish anonymised caste tables on time, set up an expert body to standardise caste names, protect data under Section 15, and pair caste data with socio-economic indicators so targeting rests on deprivation, not just numbers.