Mausam Kumar, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru
INTRODUCTION
Indian census has a long history behind it, Kautilya’s Arthasasta, written around 321-296 B.C., laid stress on the census as a measure of state policy for the collection of taxes. With time, more benefits of the census came to be known as it yielded various facts on people’s lives thus becoming a valuable tool for socio-economic policy-making and planning. In modern times, it has become an exercise which is undertaken every ten years. The first complete pan-India census took place in 1881, till 1931 the information was being collected mainly on four markers i.e. age, sex, caste, and occupation (Maheshwari). After 1931 the collection of caste-based data was discontinued. The decision to stop collecting caste data was driven by the beliefs of leaders of the Indian Independence movement that emphasizing caste distinctions could perpetuate social inequalities and hinder the nation's efforts to promote unity and social integration. It is pertinent to note that even after 76 years of Independence, India’s complex caste hierarchy plays a substantial role in shaping socioeconomic outcomes and restricting access to opportunities for historically marginalized communities (Ram B. Bhagat). The lack of clear official data on the country’s caste composition severely limits evidence-based policymaking aimed at ameliorating caste-based discrimination. Multiple academic studies have demonstrated that caste identity significantly impacts income levels, poverty rates, health indicators, and access to education and employment, even after controlling for class differences (Singh et al.). At the same time, scholars note that gaps remain in evaluating the efficacy of existing schemes due to unreliable and dated caste statistics. The previous nationwide caste census conducted in 1931 under British rule enumerated specific caste groups and their population proportions across provinces and states. Independent India has yet to undertake such a rigorous enumeration of castes. Instead, the decennial census since 1951 has focused only on categorizing Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) broadly without any internal differentiations (R. B. Bhagat). This renders invisible in official statistics the multitude of castes clubs under the SC/ST brackets. Moreover, the census data on the broader SC/ST population is also dated now, with the last published figures from the 2011 census exercise. The lack of granular and updated data on the demographic spread, socioeconomic characteristics, and access outcomes for specific marginalized castes severely restricts the Indian state’s ability to introduce impactful actionable policies.
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