The Caste imperative : On the subject of an updated Caste Census : Daily Current Affairs

Date: 21/04/2023

Relevance: GS-1: Population, Migration and Associated Issues and remedies.

Relevance: GS-2: Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health; Hunger and Poverty related issues.

Key Phrases: Caste Census, Mandal Commission, Population Census, National Population Register, National Family Health Survey, Welfare State, Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Context:

Recently, the Congress party has joined the chorus for an updated caste census, so there seems to be an emerging consensus among the political opposition on the need for this exercise.

Key Highlights:

Census data is essential for planning at the village or block level to usher in economic and social development, ensure better governance, and increase the transparency of public schemes and programmes.
The population census is a Union subject under Article 246 of India Constitution.
- It is listed at serial number 69 of the seventh schedule of the constitution.
India has a long history of conducting Census without interruption from 1881 with the rare exception of Assam in 1981 and Jammu Kashmir in 1991 due to sociopolitical unrest and secessionist movements.
16th Census of India is to be the first digital Census of the country.

Need for updated Caste Census:

The last caste census was conducted in 1931.
- All caste data are projected on its basis.
- It became the basis for quota caps under the Mandal formula given by the Mandal Commission report of 1980.
- This old data is still the basis of identifying backwardness and determining the extent of reservation to the Other Backward Classes.
The need for a comprehensive census that provides data to support, to evaluate existing reservation quotas or to assess demands for them remains pertinent.
Such a diligent exercise would also serve a legal imperative allowing the government to answer the Supreme Court’s call for quantifiable data.

Issues in conducting the Caste Census:

Caste census is not an easy task.
- An inherent weakness is evident in how the government described the Socio-Economic and Caste Census in 2011- as being riddled with infirmities that made the data collected unusable.
- Data here recorded 46 lakh different castes, sub-castes, caste/clan surnames, which required adequate parsing before being used for proper enumeration.
- The survey was conducted in a hurry manner and not utilized the Census Commissioners and the Office of the Registrar General properly which also rendered it problematic.

Population Census

About
- Population Census is the total process of collecting, compiling, analyzing and disseminating demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specific time, of all persons in a country or a well-defined part of a country.
- The decennial Census is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881 under Ripon.
  - Till now, India has conducted a population census 15 times including the last in 2011.
Periodicity
- Constitutional provision:
  - The Constitution talks about the use of Census data for the delimitation of constituencies and for determining the quantum of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
  - However, it does not say what should be the periodicity of the census.
- Census Act, of 1948:
  - Census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948.
  - It provides the legal background for several activities relating to the Census without mentioning anything about its periodicity.
  - It says, “The Central Government may declare its intention of taking a census, whenever it may consider it necessary or desirable to do so, and thereupon the census shall be taken”.
  - This provision puts the onus of deciding when to conduct a Census on the executive.
Key Features
- Census 2021 will be conducted in 18 languages out of the 22 scheduled languages (under the 8th schedule) and English.
- The option of “Other” under the gender category will be changed to “Third Gender”.
- Data is proposed to be collected through a mobile app by enumerators
- The information collected during the population Census is so confidential that it is not even accessible to the courts of law.
Significance of Census Data
- Source of Statistical Information
  - The Indian Census is the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India.
- Basis of Plans and Programmes
  - The Census forms the basis of all the plans and programmes that the government wants to implement.
- Research and Demography
  - Researchers and Demographers use census data to analyze the growth and trends of the population and make projections.
- Demarcation
  - Census data is also used for the demarcation of constituencies and allocation of representation to Parliament, State legislative assemblies and the local bodies.
- Good Governance
  - The data collected through the census is used for administration, planning and policy-making as well as management and evaluation of various programmes by the Government.
- Better Access for Businesses
  - The census data is also important for business houses and industries for strengthening and planning their business for penetration into areas, which had hitherto remained, uncovered.

Need of Hour:

A more thoroughgoing exercise would entail an adequate consolidation of caste/sub-caste names into social groups based on synonymity and equivalence of the self-identified group names revealed by respondents in the census.
- Marking these groups against the OBC/Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes lists for each State would build a useful database, which can be utilized in the decennial Census.
The data obtained this way can be used to analyze aggregated socioeconomic information for these groups.
There is also a need to demystify census operations and build trust in the impartiality of the exercise.
Conducting the Caste census is a mammoth task.
- Therefore, full involvement of the government system is necessary to organize it.
Not conducting the census has immediate and long-term negative consequences for India.
- Therefore, the government should take urgent steps to conduct the Census.

Conclusion:

There is a risk of reification of caste identities even as the constitutional order seeks to build a casteless society.
- But with caste-based identification still predominant, such a census seems politically imperative, even if morally flawed, for the purpose of addressing socioeconomic inequities through facile reservation quotas that confer income benefits and a degree of social justice without actually advancing the cause of a truly casteless society.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. Critically examine the need and rationale behind conducting caste-based census in India. Also, discuss the issues in conducting an accurate and fair caste census. (150 Word).