Counting people, lesson from Bihar
1 year, 2 months ago

Counting people, lesson from Bihar

Hindustan Times  

While caste informs every aspect of the South Asian experience — knowledge, stratification, power, intimacy, theology — the Indian governing classes have been so far averse to its inclusion as a category in the decennial Census. The persistent caste blindness has been breached by the Bihar government’s release of the first set of caste-based survey data on the symbolic occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2. Any meaningful population enumeration must be positioned as a cartographic exercise that dynamically mirrors India’s immense cultural diversity and socio-economic inequality, including caste. The survey returns the population share of the privileged caste Ashraf Muslims to 4.8% and the lower caste Pasmanda Muslims to 12.9%, leading to a total population share of Muslims at 17.70%. Caste, South Asia’s storehouse of social power, often constitutes the crucial site where “class” is lived out and contested.

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History of this topic

Counting right: The Hindu Editorial on caste surveys
1 month, 1 week ago

Counting right: The Hindu Editorial on caste surveys

The Hindu  

Last week’s launch of a caste survey in Telangana by the Congress government is a step towards fulfilling its 2023 Assembly poll promise. The Union government had also said that it had no proposal to make caste data of the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 public. In June, the Patna High Court struck down two Acts in Bihar, envisaging …

Looking through the census prism
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Looking through the census prism

New Indian Express  

Misplaced debate However, some experts say the debate over regional imbalance is completely misplaced. Caste census Since 1951, when the first census of Independent India was conducted, only the number of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been counted, not of all castes. Ever since, the Congress-led INDIA bloc intensified the call for a national caste census, though the grand …

Congress Leader Calls for Nationwide Caste Census to Uncover Deepest Layers of Discrimination
Trending News
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Congress Leader Calls for Nationwide Caste Census to Uncover Deepest Layers of Discrimination

Deccan Chronicle  

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi advocates for a national caste census in India, highlighting the deep-rooted caste-based discrimination affecting people's lives, careers, and faith in the nation. He argues that caste discrimination exists in every corner of India and must be revealed and addressed to foster inclusive governance. Gandhi also emphasizes the need for transparency and accountability in the census process, …

Census Sparks Debate: Need for Precise Data on Other Backward Classes
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Census Sparks Debate: Need for Precise Data on Other Backward Classes

New Indian Express  

The 2025 Census in India is facing controversy due to the demand for a caste census. The opposition has launched a campaign for counting the numbers of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), while parties such as Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party support the central government's efforts to rectify an alleged imbalance in caste and sub-caste data. The 2025 census gives …

Siddaramaiah Warns BJP Over Caste Census, Hints at Legal Stalemate
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Siddaramaiah Warns BJP Over Caste Census, Hints at Legal Stalemate

The Hindu  

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has responded to the Opposition BJP's claim that he has no opposition to the caste census report. He asserts that he is relieved to see the BJP's statement but questions the lack of courage shown by other BJP-ruled states in taking up the exercise. The Chief Minister emphasizes that the decision to accept the caste census report …

DC Edit | RSS backing caste census spells a problem for BJP
3 months, 2 weeks ago

DC Edit | RSS backing caste census spells a problem for BJP

Deccan Chronicle  

The cautious clearance that the BJP’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has given to the idea of conducting a caste-based census nevertheless puts it in a serious dilemma. Despite consistent opposition to the idea by the BJP, voiced by its senior leaders including Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the RSS, after a just-concluded brainstorming session in Kerala, greenlighted …

BJP Faces Dilemma Over RSS-endorsed Caste Census
3 months, 3 weeks ago

BJP Faces Dilemma Over RSS-endorsed Caste Census

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: The BJP seems to be caught in a dilemma after the RSS gave a green signal to a nationwide caste census, an issue that is being raised by the Congress time and again. While the BJP is maintaining a stoic silence after the RSS indicated that the caste census “could be carried out for the betterment of the …

Lalu Yadav on caste census: ‘Will hold RSS, BJP by ear, make them do sit-ups’
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Lalu Yadav on caste census: ‘Will hold RSS, BJP by ear, make them do sit-ups’

Hindustan Times  

Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday declared that the opposition would compel the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, to conduct a caste census. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav holds a mic while RJD Chief Lalu Prasad addresses party workers during 28th foundation of Rashtriya Janata Dal, at the party office …

OPINION | Caste Census: Why did RSS propose?
3 months, 3 weeks ago

OPINION | Caste Census: Why did RSS propose?

India TV News  

Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the ideological mentor of Bharatiya Janata Party, on Monday clearly indicated its support to the caste census, but added a rider saying that the census should not be used as ‘a political tool.’ At the end of the three-day Samanwaya Baithak between RSS and its frontline outfits, Sunil Ambekar, prachar pramukh of RSS told a press conference: …

RSS Backs Caste Census, But With Conditions As Congress Accuses It Of Opposing Move
3 months, 3 weeks ago

RSS Backs Caste Census, But With Conditions As Congress Accuses It Of Opposing Move

ABP News  

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh expressed its support on Monday for collecting data on specific communities or castes, provided that the information is utilised solely for their welfare and not manipulated for political purposes. Ambekar's remarks come in the wake of opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and other INDIA bloc allies, campaigning for a caste census to inform effective …

RSS supports caste census but warns against 'political use'
3 months, 3 weeks ago

RSS supports caste census but warns against 'political use'

Hindustan Times  

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Monday backed the caste census saying it should be handled with seriousness, not merely for elections or politics. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been demanding caste census, claiming that 90 percent of India's population is not a part of the system. Recently, 'Mood of the Nation' survey conducted by CVoter for India …

'India's order has come': Rahul Gandhi on caste census after survey shows rising support
3 months, 4 weeks ago

'India's order has come': Rahul Gandhi on caste census after survey shows rising support

Hindustan Times  

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday threw down the gauntlet to the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, asserting that no power can halt the caste census after a survey suggested that 74% of the population was in its favour. Referring to India Today's ‘Mood of The Nation’ survey, Gandhi added, “Hindustan's order has come - Soon 90% of Indians will support …

‘90% people sitting out of system’: Rahul Gandhi's fresh caste census demand
4 months ago

‘90% people sitting out of system’: Rahul Gandhi's fresh caste census demand

Hindustan Times  

Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reiterated the demand for a caste census, claiming that 90 per cent of India's population is not a part of the system. Addressing the ‘Samvidhan Samman Sammelan’ in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, the former Congress chief said,"Ninety per cent of people are sitting outside the system, they have skills and knowledge …

Emerging dimensions of caste politics in India
4 months, 1 week ago

Emerging dimensions of caste politics in India

Hindustan Times  

The discourse on the politics of caste in India seems stuck in the binary of supporting or opposing caste-based reservations. The third phase of reservation politics has already begun with quota benefits to economically weaker sections and political mobilisation around conducting a caste census. In some ways, the mobilisation around social groups in India is a result of political competition …

Rahul Gandhi vows to conduct caste census if Congress voted to power
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Rahul Gandhi vows to conduct caste census if Congress voted to power

The Hindu  

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on March 9 underlined his party's resolve to conduct a caste census if voted to power, asserting that based on this right step along with economic mapping, the 50% cap on reservation would be "uprooted". Mr. Gandhi said the Congress' slogan is "count" because that would be the first step towards justice. The caste survey conducted …

'INDIA bloc will remove 50% cap on reservations if voted to power': Rahul Gandhi
10 months, 2 weeks ago

'INDIA bloc will remove 50% cap on reservations if voted to power': Rahul Gandhi

India Today  

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised a nationwide caste census and removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservation if the INDIA bloc forms the government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls. Gandhi also launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying when the demand for caste census was raised and the time came …

In Kerala, parties weigh in on a caste census
1 year ago

In Kerala, parties weigh in on a caste census

The Hindu  

Mainstream political parties in Kerala are grappling with the contentious issue of carrying out a caste survey in the State. In contrast, the Communist Party of India -led Left Democratic Front government is reluctant, instead planning to build consensus on holding a Socio-Economic Caste Census in Kerala. The party’s hesitancy could stem from the Nair Service Society’s assertion that a …

Caught in a row, RSS says it is not against a caste census
1 year ago

Caught in a row, RSS says it is not against a caste census

The Hindu  

Days after one of its senior functionaries opposed a caste census, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Thursday said that any such census should be used for the upliftment of society, emphasising that political parties must ensure that social harmony is not disrupted due to any reason. ‘Need Hindu society sans inequality’ Clarifying the Sangh’s official stand through social media, the …

Shinde Indicates Caste Census in Maharashtra
1 year ago

Shinde Indicates Caste Census in Maharashtra

Deccan Chronicle  

Mumbai: A day after an RSS functionary expressed his opposition to the caste-based enumeration, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has sung a different tune on the issue. An appropriate decision will soon be taken on a caste census in Maharashtra after taking the opinion of all sections of society, the CM said on Wednesday. Hence, the Maharashtra government will take …

Caste survey will do no good, will aggravate inequality: RSS
1 year ago

Caste survey will do no good, will aggravate inequality: RSS

Hindustan Times  

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh does not support the demand of a nationwide caste census, its functionary Shridhar Ghadge said on Tuesday, adding that caste-based enumeration would exacerbate societal inequalities in the country. Union home minister Amit Shah had last month said that the BJP has never opposed the idea of caste census, but a decision in this regard would be …

Have not opposed caste census, says Shivakumar after Kharge’s charge
1 year ago

Have not opposed caste census, says Shivakumar after Kharge’s charge

Hindustan Times  

Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said he is not opposed to the state’s caste survey but wants it to be done in a scientific and systematic manner, in a clarification that came amid deep divisions within the ruling Congress on the subject and a day after party president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the former’s stand on the caste …

We need well-designed and nationally-accepted tools to measure social inequality
1 year, 1 month ago

We need well-designed and nationally-accepted tools to measure social inequality

Live Mint  

Several states in India have collected detailed caste and sub-caste data over the past few years. There are three key reasons behind the reluctance to conduct a nation-wide caste census: fear of legitimizing caste, vested interests, and concerns related to data integrity. In a comprehensive caste count, demands to club different caste names in one group or split one name …

Caste Survey | In Bihar, an arithmetic of caste and politics of numbers
1 year, 1 month ago

Caste Survey | In Bihar, an arithmetic of caste and politics of numbers

Hindustan Times  

The caste census in Bihar is possibly the first comprehensive and public exercise to enumerate caste groups and ascertain their socio-economic profile in Independent India. The decennial All India Census counts castes within the Scheduled Caste category and the National Sample Survey Office includes the Other Backward Classes castes in its data, but neither provides figures of individual castes across …

In Madhya Pradesh, no groundswell in support of Congress’ caste survey pitch
1 year, 1 month ago

In Madhya Pradesh, no groundswell in support of Congress’ caste survey pitch

The Hindu  

An alaav is lit around 9 p.m. outside a dhaba in Shahpur of Betul district with some men gathered around it. It can get really ugly.” Dubbed as the party’s “primary agenda” for the November 17 Assembly polls, the top leadership of the Congress has promised a caste-based population survey if voted to power in Madhya Pradesh. It will only …

Caste census crucial to ensure participation of all in govt: Rahul in MP
1 year, 1 month ago

Caste census crucial to ensure participation of all in govt: Rahul in MP

Hindustan Times  

Bhopal: Caste census is necessary to ensure participation of other backward classes, dalits and tribals in government as per their proportion in population, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of opposing the caste-based enumeration exercise. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls himself an OBC, but when it comes to …

Politics as unusual: Who’s afraid of an all-India caste X-ray?
1 year, 1 month ago

Politics as unusual: Who’s afraid of an all-India caste X-ray?

Live Mint  

The politics of social justice has long held salience in India as an echo of the ‘class struggle’ of leftist extraction. By one reckoning, how contestable key swing seats prove in a pivotal belt of the country could depend on vote shifts among caste groups classified as Other Backward Classes. Little wonder that calls have arisen from the Congress and …

Caste survey and quota hike: Bihar starts political churn ahead of 2024 polls
1 year, 1 month ago

Caste survey and quota hike: Bihar starts political churn ahead of 2024 polls

Hindustan Times  

PATNA: The recent announcement by the Nitish Kumar government to hike reservation to 75% in Bihar based on the findings of the caste survey presented before the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, has infused new energy into the run-up to the 2024 general elections. There is no monolithic cultural category and that will set new political trends with a demand …

Law doesn’t bar states from counting castes
1 year, 1 month ago

Law doesn’t bar states from counting castes

Hindustan Times  

The Bihar caste survey has revealed the ground realities of the social fabric. The Mandal Commission report had a chapter on “the social dynamics of caste” recording that notwithstanding public declarations condemning caste, it has remained a significant basis of action in politics and decision-making of governments. The challenge in courts to the caste census has been on two grounds: …

PM Modi ‘scared’ of caste census, trying to create ‘atmosphere of fear’ in country against it: Adhir Chowdhury
1 year, 2 months ago

PM Modi ‘scared’ of caste census, trying to create ‘atmosphere of fear’ in country against it: Adhir Chowdhury

India TV News  

Murshidabad: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “scared” of the Opposition’s push for the caste census and is trying to create an atmosphere of “fear” against it in the country. Suddenly, Modi has become a Ram bhakt and is trying to divide the country on the basis of religion," the Berhampore MP …

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin Writes to PM Modi on Caste Census
1 year, 2 months ago

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin Writes to PM Modi on Caste Census

Deccan Chronicle  

Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally intervene and integrate caste census with the upcoming national decadal census and make the initiative a monumental step to take the benefits of development to the most vulnerable sections, thus building a stronger, more inclusive India. In a letter to the Prime Minister on Saturday, Stalin, stressing …

Caste census finds resonance in Rajasthan
1 year, 2 months ago

Caste census finds resonance in Rajasthan

Hindustan Times  

In September 1987, 18-year-old Roop Kanwar was forced to commit Sati on her husband’s funeral pyre in Rajasthan. In the run-up to the 2023 assembly election, almost all caste groups in Rajasthan held mahasammelans as a show of strength, with three major demands: an increase in reservation, a hike in political representation and that a caste census be conducted. Congress …

Bihar caste survey results challenge BJP’s Hindutva unity narrative
1 year, 2 months ago

Bihar caste survey results challenge BJP’s Hindutva unity narrative

The Hindu  

Published : Oct 19, 2023 11:00 IST - 17 MINS READ In the 1960s, Ram Manohar Lohia of the Samyukta Socialist Party coined the slogan: Sansopa ne baandhi gaanth, Pichchde paaven sau me saat, Raj paat hai kiske haath, Angrezi aur unchi jaath With the Bihar government, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a Lohiaite, releasing its caste survey data …

INTERVIEW | Akhilesh Yadav: ‘Reservation has to be on the basis of caste, not poverty’
1 year, 2 months ago

INTERVIEW | Akhilesh Yadav: ‘Reservation has to be on the basis of caste, not poverty’

The Hindu  

The president of the Samajwadi Party believes a caste census would lead to equal opportunity and representation in politics and policymaking. As INDIA alliance parties raise the pitch for OBC politics, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is confident that a social coalition of the backward classes, Dalits, and the minorities will turn the tide against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, …

Bihar’s caste survey can spark a new political consciousness
1 year, 2 months ago

Bihar’s caste survey can spark a new political consciousness

The Hindu  

Published : Oct 19, 2023 11:00 IST - 9 MINS READ The last four decades of economic liberalisation have created new sectors of employment and entrepreneurship, produced a significant urban middle class, and expanded the Indian diaspora of engineers, technicians, and other professionals in developed countries. The BJP’s current political assertion and electoral success in north Indian States has been …

A key step by Bihar to promote better social justice
1 year, 2 months ago

A key step by Bihar to promote better social justice

The Hindu  

There are certain dates which acquire greater significance by a stroke of history, and October 2, 2023 is one such date — a day when the Bihar government released the data for a caste-based survey, known as the Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana. Caste discrimination often leads to economic disparities, with certain caste groups facing limited access to education and employment …

The case for caste census in India | Explained
1 year, 2 months ago

The case for caste census in India | Explained

The Hindu  

The story so far: After the publication of a caste survey in Bihar, which found that 63% of Bihar’s 13 crore population belong to castes listed under the Extremely Backward Classes and Other Backward Classes categories, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised and rejected the demand for a nationwide caste census made by Congress and several other Opposition parties. The commission …

NSS hits out at the pitch for caste census, says it’s a threat to nation’s unity
1 year, 2 months ago

NSS hits out at the pitch for caste census, says it’s a threat to nation’s unity

The Hindu  

The Nair Service Society has frowned at the Congress call to conduct a caste census. NSS general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair said at Perunna on Tuesday that vote bank politics motivated the growing chorus for an updated caste census. “Caste-based reservation is a key driver of the savarna-avarna culture that cultivates rivalry between castes which enjoy the benefits of reservation …

Opinion: Caste census plank gives Rahul Gandhi leg-up within Congress and INDIA bloc
1 year, 2 months ago

Opinion: Caste census plank gives Rahul Gandhi leg-up within Congress and INDIA bloc

India Today  

These are interesting and exciting times in the grand old party. The Congress Working Committee unanimously endorsed Rahul Gandhi’s idea of caste-based census without a fuss. The status of a migrant from one state to another and the status of children of inter-caste marriage, in terms of caste classification, are also vexed questions.” On October 9, 2023, Chidambaram was present …

Our government will conduct a country-wide caste census: Congress Working Committee
1 year, 2 months ago

Our government will conduct a country-wide caste census: Congress Working Committee

The Hindu  

A Congress-led government will conduct a nation-wide caste census as part of the decadal census that was due in 2021, remove the cap of 50% on reservation through legislation and implement the women’s reservation law to provide 33% quota for women in Lok Sabha and Assemblies at the earliest, the Congress Working Committee said in a resolution that was unanimously …

‘PM Modi will keep distracting in coming times’: Rahul Gandhi on caste census
1 year, 2 months ago

‘PM Modi will keep distracting in coming times’: Rahul Gandhi on caste census

Live Mint  

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came down heavily on PM Narendra Modi for not carrying out a caste census in the country, saying the decision to conduct a caste census was not political but based on justice. Rahul Gandhi also said that PM Narendra Modi was “incapable” and was employing distraction tactics to avoid the survey, saying hewould bring many distractions …

Rajasthan government orders conduct of caste survey
1 year, 2 months ago

Rajasthan government orders conduct of caste survey

The Hindu  

Close on the heels of Bihar releasing the caste data, the Congress government in Rajasthan on Saturday ordered a similar caste-based survey to find out the socio-economic status of different sections of society and formulate targeted welfare schemes for them. The collation of the caste data would enable the State government to prepare schemes for different groups of people engaged …

After Bihar, Rajasthan issues order to conduct caste census
1 year, 2 months ago

After Bihar, Rajasthan issues order to conduct caste census

India TV News  

Rajasthan: After Bihar, the Rajasthan government has now announced that it will conduct a caste-based census in the state. In a notification, the Rajasthan government said that in order to ensure that welfare schemes of the government reach every section of the society and to know the status of different castes, the government has decided to conduct the caste based …

Equality and identity: The Hindu Editorial on the findings of the Bihar caste count
1 year, 2 months ago

Equality and identity: The Hindu Editorial on the findings of the Bihar caste count

The Hindu  

The significance of Bihar conducting a caste survey and publishing a caste-wise count of its population is quite immense. The survey, which had all the trappings of a census, complete with a two-stage process of house-listing followed by the eliciting of information from the households, has shown that 63% of Bihar’s 13 crore population belong to castes listed under the …

The Bihar caste survey marks a big step towards a reality check
1 year, 2 months ago

The Bihar caste survey marks a big step towards a reality check

Live Mint  

On 2 October, the Bihar government released estimates of the state’s population by sub-castes as part of the caste survey it conducted this year. Comparative estimates of Bihar’s major caste groups from the 1931 census, the last all-India headcount that collected sub-caste data, suggest a near century of relative stability as far as the shares of various sub-castes go, with …

What the caste survey means for Nitish-Lalu, and the BJP
1 year, 2 months ago

What the caste survey means for Nitish-Lalu, and the BJP

Hindustan Times  

The caste survey report conducted by the Bihar government and released earlier this week, in all probability is an indicator of another social churning in the state. “The impact of the caste survey would be discernible in the months to come as it has provided the actual numerical strength of caste groups, which could create a new set of leaders …

The impact of the Bihar caste survey | Explained
1 year, 2 months ago

The impact of the Bihar caste survey | Explained

The Hindu  

October 04, 2023 10:41 pm | Updated October 05, 2023 12:10 am IST The story so far: On October 2, the Bihar government published the ‘Bihar Caste-based Survey 2022’, which shows that extremely backward classes and other backward classes together add up to nearly 63% of the 13-crore population, making it the largest caste group in the State. Yes, the …

Just counting castes not enough, reveal findings of socio-economic survey as well: RLJD leader Upendra Kushwaha
1 year, 2 months ago

Just counting castes not enough, reveal findings of socio-economic survey as well: RLJD leader Upendra Kushwaha

The Hindu  

Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal leader Upendra Kushwaha, an ally of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, has demanded the release of the findings of the Bihar socio-economic survey — which was conducted alongside the caste survey whose results have caused a furore since it was made public — arguing that this would provide a “full picture” to policy framers to address …

Why Bihar caste survey is useless without economic data
1 year, 2 months ago

Why Bihar caste survey is useless without economic data

India Today  

The Bihar government, under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, revealed the results of the caste survey on Gandhi Jayanti. "Until all the data related to the survey is presented before political parties in a transparent manner, the findings of the caste survey are meaningless," BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha said. Unless the caste data is interpreted with the economic figures, the …

How a landmark caste census in India threatens Modi’s grip on power
1 year, 2 months ago

How a landmark caste census in India threatens Modi’s grip on power

Al Jazeera  

The findings have the potential to upend the country’s politics, as marginalised groups demand better representation in public institutions. The findings from Bihar, one of India’s poorest yet politically significant states, have the potential to upend the country’s politics, with demands being made for a similar nationwide census, opening the doors for a revamp of the country’s affirmative action plans …

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