Caste Data to Be Integrated into Next Census, Centre Confirms to look after Social Disparities

New Delhi:
Questions on caste - i.e., an enumeration of different castes and sub-castes, & the population of each, across the country - will be part of the national census expected next year, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated during a cabinet briefing Wednesday afternoon.

"The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census exercise," Mr Vaishnaw said dropping a bombshell in a briefing expected to include information about India's reply to the Pahalgam terror attack.

The census will be conducted in a transparent manner, he said, taking jabs at the Congress & other opposition parties that have targeted the ruling BJP over demands for a caste-based census, especially during state & federal election campaigns.

Mr Vaishnaw criticized the Congress particularly, saying the party had always opposed a caste census, pointing out that the category had not been included in censuses since independence.

"Congress governments have consistently 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 selaborated.

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