I. Caste Consciousness Remains a Curse for the Emerging Open Society
Since Gandhiji’s return to India, i.e., for the past 90 years, we have been fighting to liberate India from the clutches of the caste consciousness. Under his leadership, the crusade was largely led at that time by upper-caste Hindus and the elite in other religions. The founders of the Constitution aimed to bring equality in dignity and provide equal opportunities for all residents in their social, economic, and cultural relations. But, they proposed ten years of affirmative action through Reservations for certain discriminated castes as a measure of ‘political expediency’ following the caste and religious divisions that erupted during the Round Table Conferences from 1930 to 1932, and not really as a measure of social vengeance.
Though China launched its first revolution in 1911, Mao Zedong brought about the Cultural Revolution of 1966, which was far more profound than his political revolution in transforming traditional Chinese society. If there is any consolation, we can find similar situations that exist in many developing countries. In Black Africa, it's tribes; in North Africa, races and sects; and in Latin America, racial classification based on European, Indigenous, or African descent. Even those who are converted to other religions in India remain casteconscious, and their marriages are often predominantly arranged based on caste origin.
But, after Independence, a new class of politicians emerged, and they found it convenient to revive and maintain caste consciousness to lure voters in their favour. But for them, caste differences would have disappeared totally from the minds of all Indians, especially in the promiscuous life in expanding urban areas. In India, where democracy is considered a game of numbers and rule by the majority without consensus, the political parties are thus reviving caste and religion, which were tools of social and political dominance and power in feudal societies. Provoking and reviving caste-consciousness and reminding religious identity, and incorporating them into public discourse and policy-making, is a strategy of shortterm political expediency for political parties. Such a move resembles an attempt at social suicide, which will not succeed.
This revival is occurring at a time when the urgent need is to build inclusive, integrated, and harmonious urbanising communities that excel in many walks of life, on par with other advanced countries in the world. Now, there are, instead, many more modern, democratic, and efficient techniques available to lift people — all people — without picking them by caste-wise' backwardness.’ Social justice is a constantly evolving notion closely related to the constantly evolving and urbanised society and its varied practices backed by scientific knowledge. But, unfortunately, the political leaders often prevent reform-minded intellectuals from exploring innovative methods to promote simultaneous social and human development across all communities in the country.
If caste-consciousness becomes widespread again, as the present class of politicians want, the result will be a society of more people who feel frustrated, discriminated and unhappy, rather than of people who feel supported and uplifted. There will be unproductive social costs and unaccounted public expenditure, which would retard economic growth. Is it true that even after 75 years of political democracy and slow but steady economic growth, we have not made much progress in social democracy? Should some of the recent generations of Indian youth be deprived of equal opportunities because of their birth in a particular caste, as a kind of reverse discrimination? The UN Human Rights Council has, perhaps rather rashly, characterised the caste system as a form of racism.
II. What is New Today?
Caste is a political reality today, no doubt, but not a social reality, as people do not at all believe in its virtues as a system. Caste consciousness reinforces birth-based group identities, thereby undermining the promotion of individual merit, equality, civic fairness, and universal rights. In a democracy, such a census sends a regressive message — that one’s ancestral label and numerical strength matter more than personal growth, capabilities, hard work or social contribution.
As we transition into a knowledge-based society, increasingly supported by Artificial Intelligence, it is vital that all government policies be formulated by well-interpreted data. Caste is neither uniformly defined nor fixed across India. Its names, classifications, and social statuses vary widely between and within regions and states. These fluid and subjective identities risk generating data that is inaccurate, inconsistent, and misleading, thus compromising policy integrity. The last caste and religion-based census was conducted by the British in 1931, and it was condemned by the founding members of our Constitution for its catastrophic consequences.
Focusing on caste specifics in such a context only distracts from promoting universally measurable indicators essential for sustainable development, such as income, education, health, housing, and employment. This is a blatant betrayal of the Constitution’s spirit and the ideals of our freedom fighters. In the 21st century, we want the empowerment of every human being born and not classes and castes.
Why undertake such an impossible task now, if not for electoral gains? In the Fifties, we could have done it as a measure of soul searching, as in the Republic of South Africa, where they carried out a campaign for ‘Truth & Reconciliation.’ Truths had to be searched in the practice of Apartheid sincerely and for genuine reconciliation with a spirit of ‘forgive and forget’ for a cherished common destiny, instead of going on judging the past events and persons. Of course, there should be room for some rectification and restoration, wherever possible, amicably, to evolve and to build a better society.
Take, for instance, Resident Welfare Associations, these are formed by young professionals from diverse backgrounds who consciously set aside incidental affiliations of caste and creed. Would it be reasonable to imagine caste-based or religion-based associations for seniors and the disabled, old age homes, or orphanages, let alone hospitals or schools? What about the growing number of those who are born or living in intercaste or inter-national marriages? What about the NRIs who manage to marry among themselves, or marry foreigners, no matter the caste and religious differences?
If political parties genuinely seek a deeper understanding of social realities to guide policymaking, they should rely on independent academic and research institutions for data collection and interpretation, so as to ensure the credibility and validity of the findings. Where such information is not available, independent bodies should be commissioned to carry out studies. There are a number of UN bodies which can do it more objectively.
III. Caste Surveys and State Experiences:
Telangana conducted a caste survey, called ‘Social, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEOC)’ survey first in November–December 2024, and then again for 12 more days in February 2025 to complete it. The previous government had already conducted a similar household survey, covering caste and religion, using similar personnel and involving several offices, and the official website. While the results were officially accepted, the opposition had reasons to remain unsatisfied. Nonetheless, credit must be given to the Telangana Government for appointing an Independent Expert Working Group of civil society activists to analyse the obtained data. The analysis exposed rural-urban disparities and overall regional social backwardness. The Chief Minister himself highlighted a finding which he termed as interesting, that 3.9% of the people self-identified as not belonging to any caste, while fewer than 5% of the marriages in the state are inter-caste. These people are found to be among the 15% of the upper-caste, highly educated and English-speaking individuals. Naturally, crossing caste lines, even if it happened, can never be announced and accepted in rural areas. Further, there are advantages of ‘Reservations’, legal protection, etc., one would not like to forego. But, things are bound, naturally, to be different since the last decade in view of the rapid urbanisation of Telangana.
Bihar too carried out a Socio-Economic & Caste Census that exposed the difficulties in reflecting the vast heterogeneity of the classes surveyed in the state. The same difficulty will present itself in all states. Karnataka wants to launch afresh a comprehensive door-to-door survey of socio-educational conditions from September to October 2025, since the State Cabinet of ministers shelved the previous caste survey report of February 2024. The previous caste-report was rejected due to widespread discontent over the alleged under-reporting of some politically dominant communities. These inaccuracies in data confirm the decades-long experience of the Electoral Rolls, which remain still in need of significant corrections in spite of the fact that they are revised periodically. It is anachronistic to think of policies that invest money in promoting castewise occupations and trade, as some state governments are doing.
Odisha has started in 2023 to identify and document Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) and has not yet completed. The last caste data collected at the national level was the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011, but caste data was not released publicly due to alleged discrepancies. The Union Government in the past has refused to conduct a full caste census, stating it’s complex and administratively difficult.
In June this year, the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to issue orders enabling Revenue officials to grant ‘no caste, no religion’ certificates to individuals who do not wish to be identified by any particular caste or religion. It also observed “While the Constitution of India prohibits caste-based discrimination, caste and religion still play a significant role in social life, politics, education and employment through reservation policies.” The judges described the petitioner’s decision to renounce caste and religious identity as “laudable” and stated that such efforts could help prohibit caste-based discrimination and act as an “eye-opener” for like-minded citizens.
Moreover, like general elections, a caste census is unlikely to stir much enthusiasm among the expanding urban middle classes, who may not actively cooperate. Consequently, the results of such a massive and costly nationwide campaign may lack validity and credibility. Another issue, though not discussed here, is whether legislative, political, or administrative bodies are capable of addressing deeply entrenched social disharmony, social evils and fanatical practices, even if they are correctly identified. What we truly need are social, academic, economic, and cultural leaders, rather than just political ones, to build a peaceful and progressive society.
IV. If officials are directed to include caste and religious questions in the census for political reasons, the officials must ensure the data collected reflects today’s fast-evolving social realities with accuracy and precision. The participation of citizens in the Census does not confirm that they subscribe to the caste system. For most of them, caste, like religion, is a by birth given identity. It’s not an opinion poll. Understanding those realities and interpreting them for a general policy is the next logical step that cannot be left to the officials.
A. Firstly, Dr. Balasubramanyam, a renowned scientist from Hyderabad, refers to a 2003 paper by Prof. P.P. Majumdar’s group. The study examined ethnic identities in India using ‘haplo’ groups, genetic markers of common ancestry shared within social groups. It offered many insights into the caste system’s origins and its discriminatory practices over 2,000 years, transcending religious classifications. The caste system affected other religions in India too.
B. Secondly, caste identities and the discriminative practices of 1931, or even in 2011 do no longer hold the same significance, at least in urban India. However, other forms of discrimination often attributed to and originating from caste certainly persist.
C. Thirdly, the 2011 Census reported that about 6% of marriages were inter-caste and 1% inter-faith. These numbers are likely to have grown substantially, especially in urban areas. B. Similarly, the Pew Research Centre, based on nearly 2,700 censuses and surveys, observed significant changes in the global religious landscape from 2010 to 2020. The number of religiously unaffiliated individuals, often referred to as "nones", grew by 270 million to reach 1.9 billion in total, increasing their share to 24.2% of the global population. As of 2020, the United States had the second-largest population of unaffiliated individuals, surpassing Japan. China, with 1.3 billion unaffiliated citizens, accounted for 90% of its population. Given these global trends, the Indian Census of 2027 should recognise and document the growing number of individuals who are opposed or indifferent to religious affiliation. In India, as we learn from the Upanishads, many people have been historically struggling to free themselves from formal religious institutions and organisations. Over time, the country has seen a mix of movements of spirituality and religiosity, some overlapping, some distinct. Today, we are witnessing the rise of international, guru-centric New Age sects that are more humanistic and personality-driven than godcentric.
V. In light of these insights, the following letter was sent to the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner—Sh. Sunil Kumar, Additional Registrar General, New Delhi 110011— on 8th July 2025: “Sir, On behalf of numerous national and regional civil society organizations, Resident Welfare Associations, Senior Citizens’ Associations and Old Age Homes, we urge your office to include in the Census a count of the growing number of Indian citizens who do not support caste-based enumeration, and who either decline to disclose or are unable to identify their caste or define their religious or spiritual identity. Therefore, we propose that an additional option of ‘Others’ be included wherever questions are asked about caste, religion, or gender. Those who opt for Others may further be subdivided to find out their reasons, whether by conviction, by circumstances or indifferent or ‘None of the Above (NOTA)’. This measure is essential to uphold fundamental human rights and to safeguard social and communal harmony, and promote inclusive social development in our country.”
Dr. Rao V.B.J. Chelikani,
International Foundation for Human Development, Hyderabad
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