Modi government to conduct caste census in country, to be conducted along with population census

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet Committee has decided to conduct a caste census in the country. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Union Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) has approved the conduct of a caste census in the country along with the upcoming population census. Opposition political parties including the Congress had been pressuring the central government to conduct a caste census. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress Working Committee had passed a resolution stating that a caste census is essential to ensure social justice for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in the country. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw criticized the opposition while announcing the implementation of the caste census. He alleged that the census procedures conducted in many states were unscientific and that the Congress and its INDIA alliance partners were using the caste census only as a political tool.

'Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes. While some states have done this well, some others conducted such surveys only from a political angle in a non-transparent way. Such surveys created doubts in society. To ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be included in the census instead of surveys'- said the Union Minister.