5 days ago
Congress Challenges Census 2027 Caste Question Over Data Accuracy
India is preparing to conduct Census 2027, which counts and collects information about people.
For the first time since 1931, the census will ask every person about their caste.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge say the question is not designed properly.
They worry that people may use different names for the same caste, causing the results to be split into many groups.
They also say the form does not have a separate option for Other Backward Classes, or OBCs.
Without accurate numbers, it may be harder to plan education, jobs and welfare programs.
They want the government to replace the questionnaire after consulting political parties, experts and the public.
The Centre has already notified a 40-question form, but the articles do not report a government response to Congress's demand.
Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap the existing Census 2027 questionnaire.
They object to the open-ended caste question, saying different names could fragment one caste into many entries.
Congress leaders say the questionnaire lacks a dedicated Other Backward Classes option, making OBC numbers unclear.
The Centre notified 40 questions on August 14, including caste, COVID-19 vaccination place, identity, education, work and migration details.
Congress proposed a caste dropdown list based on government classifications, citing surveys conducted in Bihar and Telangana.
- Who
- Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh are central to the dispute.
- What
- Kharge and Gandhi have demanded that the existing Census 2027 questionnaire be scrapped and redesigned, particularly its caste question.
- Where
- The questionnaire will be used across India; the letter cited caste surveys conducted in Bihar and Telangana.
- When
- The Centre notified the 40 questions on August 14; Kharge and Gandhi wrote to Modi on August 20. Enumeration is scheduled to begin on September 1 in snow-bound areas and next year elsewhere.
- Why
- Congress says the open-ended caste format and absence of a dedicated OBC option could produce inaccurate, fragmented data and weaken social-justice planning.
Congress objections
Centre’s notified format
Open-ended caste entry
Congress objections
Kharge and Gandhi say recording whatever caste name a person provides could produce numerous names for the same caste and make the dataset unreliable.
Centre’s notified format
The Centre’s notified questionnaire uses the format described in the articles; no government response defending this approach is reported.
OBC identification
Congress objections
Congress says the absence of a dedicated OBC or Backward Class option means the national OBC population may not be clearly measured.
Centre’s notified format
The notified questions explicitly distinguish Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, while the article does not state how the Centre intends to identify or aggregate OBC data.
How the questionnaire should be prepared
Congress objections
Congress wants the current questionnaire scrapped and replaced after consultation, with a caste list or dropdown based on existing government classifications.
Centre’s notified format
The Centre has proceeded with the 40-question questionnaire, but the articles provide no reported explanation for rejecting Congress’s proposed changes.
Key facts
- Questionnaire length
- The Centre notified 40 questions for the population enumeration phase.
- Caste question
- Question 10 asks about Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and caste.
- Historical context
- Caste was regularly recorded from 1881 to 1931, but not for all castes in censuses after independence.
- Scheduled groups
- Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have continued to be counted, while OBCs have not been counted nationally.
- Congress proposal
- Use a dropdown caste list based on existing government lists and consult political parties, experts and the public.
- State surveys cited
- The article cites surveys in Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka; Bihar published its data in 2023.
- Most recent available caste data
- The latest publicly available national caste data is from the 1931 Census; caste data collected in 1941 was not released.
Quotes
Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, who jointly wrote to the prime minister.
“We do not accept the caste census being conducted in the current manner. The government should scrap the existing questionnaire and formulate a new one after consulting political parties, experts, and the general public; this would ensure that the true numbers of every caste and community are revealed, making the caste census accurate, meaningful, and beneficial.”
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“Your government has opted for an open-ended question format to record caste details in the census, which is misleading. Under this method, whatever name an individual provides for their caste will be recorded as it is,—the leaders said in their letter to Modi.”
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Sources
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