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In a landmark shift, the Indian government has announced that caste data will be collected in the upcoming national census.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made the announcement during a Cabinet Committee briefing on Wednesday, saying the move had been formally cleared.
Government Signals Major Policy Shift Ahead of Key Elections
“Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs decided to include caste enumeration in forthcoming census exercise,” Mr. Vaishnaw stated.
The declaration came during what was expected to be a briefing on the government’s response to the recent Pahalgam terror attack, making the announcement all the more unexpected.
Vaishnaw confirmed that the census process would be carried out in a “transparent” manner.
He also used the occasion to sharply criticize the Congress and its allies, accusing them of turning the caste census into an opportunistic campaign tool.
“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.
He continued, “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.”
Vaishnaw dismissed the state-level caste counts, suggesting they lacked credibility and were driven more by electoral motives than genuine social concerns.
“Some states conducted surveys to enumerate castes… some did it well… some conducted surveys purely from a political angle. Such surveys created doubts in society,” he added.
The minister also clarified that only the central government has the legal authority to conduct a nationwide caste census.
Political Undertones and Strategic Timing
This significant policy change comes just months before the Bihar Assembly election.
In Bihar, over 63% of the population belongs to Backward or Extremely Backward Classes — a demographic that could be strongly influenced by this announcement.
Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed the move and framed it as a long-overdue step toward social justice.
“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 Hindi post on X.
सामाजिक न्याय के लिए संकल्पित मोदी सरकार ने आज एक ऐतिहासिक निर्णय लिया है।
प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के नेतृत्व में आज हुई CCPA की बैठक में, आगामी जनगणना में जातिगत गणना को शामिल करने का निर्णय लेकर सामाजिक समानता और हर वर्ग के अधिकारों के प्रति मजबूत प्रतिबद्धता का…
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 30, 2025
He further stated, “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.”
Opposition Pressure and Past Contradictions
The current decision follows growing calls for a caste census, particularly after Bihar became the first state to conduct and publish its own caste survey in October 2023.
At the time, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s government — then aligned with Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD and the Congress — led the charge.
Though the BJP was in opposition in the state, it gave cautious backing to the move, careful not to alienate large sections of the electorate.
A month later, Union Home Minister Amit Shah clarified the party’s stance by stating the BJP had never truly opposed the idea of caste enumeration.
This contradicted a previous cabinet decision that ruled out caste data collection in the upcoming census.
The Bihar report not only triggered wider public debate but also intensified demands from opposition parties for a national caste census.
It became a central issue in the lead-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Following the release of the caste data, the Bihar government announced new quotas, raising reservations up to 65%.
The Congress and its allies in the INDIA bloc escalated their campaign, with Rahul Gandhi at the forefront.
He pledged a caste census in all states where his party formed the government — a promise already acted on in Karnataka and Telangana.
