Cast of Characters

For the first time since 1931, the upcoming Census will record caste-wise data of all Indians, going beyond the current classification into SC, ST, and religious groups. This move is seen as an attempt to bring greater precision to affirmative action policies and social justice planning, but it raises significant concerns over implementation, categorisation, and the potential political consequences.

Sub-Categorisation and Affirmative Action Tensions

• Policy Tensions Within Beneficiary Groups: Decades of reservations have led to demands for intra-group fairness, particularly regarding the 'creamy layer' in OBCs and sub-categorisation within SCs and STs to ensure more equitable distribution of benefits.
• Judicial and Commission Interventions: The Supreme Court's 2023 ruling allowing sub-categorisation within SCs/STs and the Justice G. Rohini Commission’s study on OBCs indicate institutional recognition of internal disparities.
• Opacity Around Policy Outcomes: Despite the Rohini Commission submitting its report, the government has not made its findings public, reflecting fears of social unrest or political fallout from restructured quotas.

Conceptual and Logistical Complexities in Enumeration

• Ambiguity in Caste Definitions: The distinction between caste, sub-caste, and regional identities is blurred, complicating enumeration in a multilingual, multicultural country.
• Data Overload from SECC 2011: The Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 returned over 46 lakh caste names, many of which were inconsistent or unclassifiable due to lack of standardised nomenclature.
• Absence of a Unified Repository: India lacks a comprehensive caste database outside the SC, ST, and OBC lists, leading to frequent litigation in courts over inclusion/exclusion in affirmative action rosters.

Political and Social Ramifications

• Volatile Political Landscape: Recent state-level caste surveys in Bihar, Karnataka, and Telangana triggered intense political reactions, underscoring the sensitive nature of caste-based data.
• Need for Consensus-Building: With political parties now broadly supporting caste enumeration in principle, the Centre must foster consensus on methodology and classification to safeguard legitimacy.
• Risks of Infinite Fragmentation: Over-slicing social categories in pursuit of representativeness risks creating perpetual dissatisfaction among groups and destabilising affirmative action programs.

Practice Question