NEW DELHI: India’s first comprehensive caste enumeration in nearly a century is raising concerns over its potential impact on lower-caste Hindus, with critics questioning whether the government’s chosen method can accurately identify communities that depend on official classification for reservations and welfare benefits.
The government has included caste among 40 questions in the population enumeration phase of Census 2027, with respondents expected to declare their caste themselves.
Unlike a system based on a pre-prepared list of recognised castes, the open-ended approach allows individuals to provide their own caste or sub-caste identity.
The format has triggered concerns that variations in names, spellings and local identities could complicate the classification of millions of responses and potentially distort the final demographic picture.
Concerns over caste data
Opposition Congress has questioned the government’s approach, saying the absence of a pre-coded list raises “serious doubts” about the exercise and could undermine consistent data collection.
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The issue is particularly sensitive for Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes because caste data could influence future political debates over reservations, representation and the distribution of welfare resources.
India’s previous Socio-Economic and Caste Census in 2011 encountered major difficulties after self-reported identities generated a vast number of caste and sub-caste descriptions that required classification.
The final data could reshape India’s debate over affirmative action and reveal whether existing reservation policies reflect the country’s current caste demographics.
