Why caste count matters

There has been a debate for decades about whether public intellectuals, politicians and government administrators should collect data on caste from persons falling in the administrative categories of ‘General’ and ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBC). Since the census currently collects data only on ‘Scheduled Castes’ (SC) and ‘Scheduled Tribes’ (ST), it fails to provide comprehensive data on India’s classified caste hierarchy. In the run-up to the 2011 census, the political leadership agreed to include a full caste count in the census. Later it stopped the caste-wise enumeration in the census. Caste-wise data suppression occurred because the two are likely to recur due to mutualistic dynamics unless they are collectively challenged.

importance of caste statistics

First, caste elites generally believe that caste no longer matters in shaping opportunities and outcomes in the 21st century. This caste blindness, or castelessness, obscures caste privileges and hides the sources of multi-generational structural advantage. Many caste elites view the collection of caste data on just about anyone, but most view the disadvantaged as unnecessary and a misuse of public resources. This perspective both serves their own interests and ignores the relational nature of caste – that is, the same social institutions, systems and cultural norms that have simultaneously empowered the historical and ongoing subjugation of oppressed castes to others. To understand the full scope of harm, we must also examine the full scope of privilege and benefit.

Repression also resulted from the machinery of the government. Organizations that design census questions and oversee data collection, like every other major institution in society, tend to internalize caste-based inequalities. The bureaucracy prevented the inclusion of a complete caste enumeration in the 2011 Census on a methodological basis. It argued that a caste enumeration would be “administratively difficult and cumbersome”, would “endanger the entire process”, and would “compromise the basic integrity of the census”. The official language used by the Congress-led government in 2011 was similar to that used in the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court by the present BJP-led government on September 23, 2021. The presentation of (supposedly) insurmountable methodology and logistical challenges is particularly effective as an excuse because it silences non-experts. Despite over 70 years of central government reservations, the upper bureaucracy is dominated by the caste elite, both numerically and culturally. In 2019, out of 82 secretaries to the Government of India, only four were SC or ST. Of the 457 serving secretaries, joint secretaries and additional secretaries, only 12% were SC and OBC; Similarly, Group 1/A of the Central Civil Services (i.e. the top tier of the bureaucracy) have still not met their reservation quota for SCs and OBCs. Following the suppression of caste enumeration in the 2011 Census, the executive bureaucracy reconfigured the Below Poverty Line survey and renamed it the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census, which did little to fall short of the original demands of advocates of caste census. There was similarity and produced unusable caste data.

The purpose of collecting caste-wise data in the decadal census is to understand the profile of inequality. These data are important to understand how caste intersects with class, gender and regionality to structure access to resources. Collected caste data should be publicly available for use. In this regard, caste figures will continue the existing practice of the Office of the Registrar General of India to make census data publicly available. The Census has the legal status, public trust, operational expertise and resources to collect, analyze and create public caste data. Caste data should be collected as part of this constitutionally required exercise. Having a caste census as part of another state project, or overseen by nodal agencies other than ORGI, as it did 10 years ago, took it back to parts of the bureaucracy with insufficient expertise in nationwide data collection operations. Will go

While caste counting (or not counting) is political, the decision should not be limited to immediate political contingencies, i.e. expansion of reservation policies, caste-based mobilization by political parties, etc. In the absence of detailed caste data, we fail to name and address the major structural and fundamental problems of society; Give space to opportunistic politicians to exploit every caste; And miss the opportunity to formulate rational, data-driven and inclusive public policies.

addressing concerns

Nevertheless, significant concerns remain. Some progressive and anti-caste scholars fear that a full-fledged caste enumeration would further strengthen caste identity. The caste census will require all households to think, accept and speak about caste identities. Nevertheless, caste data has already had to be provided in all post-colonial censuses to enforce reservations for historically excluded groups. A complete caste-wise enumeration, despite historical, social and economic evidence to the contrary, would help to create visible privileges and resources that have been separated from caste over time. Updated data on the entire caste system, including its intersection with other identities, will provide a more complete picture of exclusion and inequality in India.

Another concern is that groups will misuse caste data. But the misuse of caste data is already happening. Private groups with access to money and power regularly collect caste data for their own needs. Political parties map the caste and religious composition of neighbourhoods, cities and villages to garner votes. Collecting caste data in the decennial census removes this private power by making caste data publicly available to all.

While the methodological and logistical challenges are real, they are surmountable. Demographers from government agencies and universities have extensive experience in dealing with these challenges. Sample surveys such as the India Human Development Survey have collected caste-wise data. Census bureaus in the US, Brazil and South Africa, as well as other countries with long histories of white supremacy, collect detailed data on race and class to understand the current scope of inequality and develop justice-oriented policies. Furthermore, research on failed caste counts suggests that there is the importance of careful planning to prevent groups from becoming invisible in the data, such as Dalit Muslims, Dalit Christians, inter-caste and inter-religious families (especially those who line) ‘untouchability’ or communal division), and LGBTQ+ individuals. Concerning the discussion of castelessness, if the ‘no caste’ option is included in the census, the caste count will likely fall short of the well-endowed caste elites. Given the purpose of caste enumeration, special attention needs to be paid to the omissions of marginalized groups and elites while designing survey tools, training enumerators, educating the public and analyzing the collected caste-wise data. Therefore, the entire process needs external inspection if the data is usable and to minimize potential damage. As the process unfolds, a public oversight group must work to ensure that key operational and methodological decisions align with the objective of data collection: to understand the scope of caste-based inequalities and address structural inequalities. For. Anti-caste organizations and public intellectuals, who have devoted their life’s work to challenging the caste hierarchy, should observe and provide input. Their vision and lived experiences of fighting caste oppression are the best safeguards to ensure that the collected data will be used for emancipation purposes.

Trina Vithaythil is Chair and Associate Professor of Global Studies, Providence College, and Kalaiyarasan A. Watson is a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University., US, and Assistant Professor at Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai. thoughts are personal