Questions on caste - i.e., an enumeration of the various castes and sub-castes, and the number of people in each, across the country - will be part of the national census expected next year, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said during a cabinet briefing Wednesday afternoon.
"Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs decided to include caste enumeration in forthcoming census exercise," Mr Vaishnaw said dropping a metaphorical bombshell in a briefing expected to include information about India's continuing response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The census will be held in a 'transparent' manner, he said, taking sharp swipes at the Congress and other opposition parties that, over the past few years, has targeted the ruling BJP over demands for a 'caste census', particularly while campaigning for state and federal elections.
Mr Vaishnaw slammed the Congress specifically, saying the party had always opposed a caste census, pointing out the category had not even been included in censuses since Independence.
"Congress governments have always opposed a caste census. In 2010, the late Dr Manmohan Singh said the matter of caste census should be considered... a group was formed (and) most political parties recommended it. But the Congress decided to conduct a survey..." he said.
"It is well understood that the Congress and its partners (referring to the party-led INDIA opposition bloc) have only used 'caste census' as a political tool," he claimed.
Mr Vaishnaw also dismissed caste counts been held by state governments - starting with Bihar in October 2023 - accusing them of just trying to score brownie points with voters.
"Some states conducted surveys to enumerate castes... some did it well... some conducted surveys purely from a political angle," he said, "Such surveys created doubts in society."
Legally a caste census, the minister said, can only be conducted by the union government.
This big decision comes months before a critical Assembly election in Bihar, over 63 per cent of the population of which comes from Extremely Backward or Backward classes.
Welcoming the announcement, Home Minister Amit Shah called it a "historic decision" by the Narendra Modi government.
"In the CCPA (Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs) meeting held today under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, a message of strong commitment towards social equality and rights of every section has been given by deciding to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census," Mr Shah said in a post in Hindi on X.
"The Congress and its allies opposed the caste census for decades while in power and played politics over it while in the opposition. This decision will empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion and pave new paths for the progress of the deprived," he wrote.
READ | Bihar Caste Survey: 27% From Backward Classes, 36% From EBCs
In October 2023 it was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's government - when he was still allied with Tejashwi Yadav's RJD and the Congress - that pushed through a caste survey.
The state unit of the BJP, then in the opposition, had voiced cautious support for the exercise, keenly aware that criticising or dismissing it could lead to push back from voters.
READ | Caste Census Takes Centre Stage, Amit Shah Says BJP Never Opposed
With similar concerns in mind, a month later Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP had never actually opposed such an exercise. However, Mr Shah's comments then were in sharp contrast to a cabinet decision on conducting the next census without caste enumeration.
Bihar subsequently became the first state to release such data.
READ | Opposition Bloc INDIA Pushes For Caste Census In First Tactical Meeting
The fallout of the report - apart from leading the opposition parties to intensify demands for a nationwide caste survey - a topic that was also a major flashpoint in campaigning for last year's Lok Sabha election - included the Bihar government ordering special quotas, up to 65 per cent.
READ | Will Conduct Caste Census If Voted To Power: Rahul Gandhi In MP
After that the Congress and the INDIA bloc made fierce demands about a national caste census. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi led that charge, promising a caste census wherever his party came to power. That promise has been fulfilled in Karnataka and Telangana.
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