NEW DELHI: In a Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the government has decided to include a caste survey in the main census.
“Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided today that Caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census,” said Ashiwini Vaishnaw.
The minister also attacked the Congress party for “opposing” the caste census, claiming that late Dr Manmohan Singh had said in 2010 that “the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet”.
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“Congress governments have always opposed the caste census. In 2010, the late Dr Manmohan Singh said that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most of the political parties have recommended a caste census,” he said.
Vaishnaw, in a jab at the Congress party, said some state governments have conducted caste surveys from “a political angle in a non-transparent way”. The minister’s remark was in reference to surveys conducted in Congress-ruled Telangana and Karnataka.
“It is well understood that Congress and its INDI alliance partners have used the caste census only as a political tool. Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes. While some states have done this well, some others conducted such surveys only from a political angle in a non-transparent way. Such surveys created doubts in society. To ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be included in the census instead of surveys,” the minister said.
“As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the subject of Census is listed at number 69 in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule, making it a Union subject. While some states have conducted caste-based surveys, the approach has varied significantly. In certain cases, these surveys have been carried out in a transparent and organised manner, while in others, they have appeared to serve political motives, lacking transparency and raising doubts in society. Such inconsistent efforts have the potential to disrupt social harmony,” said the minister.
“Taking these concerns into account, and to ensure that the social fabric remains intact, the government has decided that caste enumeration should be conducted transparently as part of the official Census, rather than through fragmented state-level surveys. This move is aimed at strengthening the social and economic foundations of the country while continuing its path of development,” he added.
