A caste census won’t solve social fairness.

• The Narendra Modi government’s announcement to include caste enumeration in the upcoming national Census has sparked concerns about the intent and commitment of the ruling class.
• Critics argue that the caste census could provide empirical grounding to assess the socio-economic status of various caste groups, particularly the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
• They believe this data will enable more targeted affirmative action and help legitimize welfare programs in the eyes of the judiciary.
• Disaggregated data within the OBC category could help identify intra-group socio-economic inequalities, thereby informing new policies for the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) within the OBCs.
• However, these arguments risk overstating what a caste census can achieve on its own, as caste enumeration should be a regular institutional practice in a diverse society.
• The Registrar General of India’s role is to collect and present neutral, factual data, not to direct the government to design social welfare policies.
• Policies for social justice have historically not waited for perfect data, but for political struggle, mass mobilisation, and the moral commitment of the ruling political class.
• Despite extensive data about caste-based inequality, the central government has yet to implement bold or transformative policy reforms.
• There is a conspicuous policy vacuum at the national level for OBCs, with no substantial measures taken to increase their representation in influential sectors of the private economy.
• The real test of the current national government lies not in collecting information on caste-based socio-economic stratification, but in executing effective policy measures for the welfare of the worst-off social groups.