The Politics of Caste Enumeration in India: Opportunities, Deflections, and Historical Patterns

The Politics of Caste Enumeration in India: Opportunities, Deflections, and Historical Patterns

Introduction: The Promise and Peril of Census 2027

Sociologist Trina Vithayathil, author of Counting Caste (Cambridge University Press, published online April 30, 2025), argues that India’s Census 2027 presents a unique opportunity to map the intersections of caste, gender, and religion. However, without institutional accountability and transparency, the census risks perpetuating historical patterns of bureaucratic deflection—strategies used by the state to suppress meaningful caste data and analysis. Historically, successive Indian governments have promised caste enumeration only to backtrack, raising the question: Will Census 2027 be a genuine step toward caste equity, or another deflection?

The Bihar Caste Survey: A Case Study in Decentralization

In October 2023, the Government of Bihar published preliminary findings from its first statewide caste survey, followed by a full report in November 2023. The survey’s results prompted immediate revisions to state-level reservation policies, offering a seemingly positive contrast to the failed nationwide caste enumeration attempts discussed in Vithayathil’s book. However, the Bihar case supports her argument that the central government’s executive bureaucracy has historically protected caste privilege by blocking caste-wise enumeration in the decennial census—a process she terms bureaucratic deflection.

One of the bureaucracy’s most effective strategies has been to decentralize caste enumeration to state governments. Bihar’s political leadership undertook the survey only after the central government failed to publish caste-wise data. This decentralization shifts responsibility away from the national level, allowing the central bureaucracy to maintain the invisibility of caste privilege.

Political Promises and Betrayals: Congress and BJP

Both major political parties—Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—share a history of using the promise of a caste census to secure votes while failing to implement one once in power. For example:

• Congress: Despite opportunities to collect caste-wise data in the censuses of 1951, 1961, 1971, 1991, and 2011, Congress consistently excluded caste enumeration. In the lead-up to Census 2011, Congress leadership conceded to demands for a caste count but later backtracked, relegating the task to a below-poverty-line (BPL) survey known for producing poor-quality data. The collected caste-wise data was never published.
• BJP: After assuming power in 2014, the BJP continued this pattern, refusing to release caste-wise data collected in the BPL survey and opposing a caste-wise enumeration in the decennial census.

The opposition Congress party, during the 2024 parliamentary elections, campaigned on a platform that included a national caste census to challenge the BJP’s bid for a third term. However, given Congress’s historical reluctance to implement caste enumeration, this promise appears disingenuous.

The Institutional Life of Caste: Gandhi, Ambedkar, and the Census

The politics of caste enumeration have deep historical roots, as illustrated by the 1931 Census debates between M.K. Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar:

• Gandhi’s Position: As a “Hindu reformer” opposing untouchability, Gandhi resisted enumerating “untouchables” (Dalits) as a separate group, advocating for their inclusion within the broader “Hindu” category. He argued that separate enumeration would deepen caste divisions. Gandhi’s stance influenced Congress leaders, who viewed themselves as legitimate representatives of “untouchables” within the “Hindu majority” during India’s decolonization negotiations with the British.
• Ambedkar’s Counterargument: Ambedkar, a Dalit leader, vehemently opposed Gandhi’s position, demanding self-representation for “untouchables” through separate electorates and reservations. He highlighted the hypocrisy of labeling “untouchables” as Hindus while they faced systemic exclusion, humiliation, and denial of temple access—reinforcing what political scientist Vivek Kumar Singh calls the “line of untouchability.”

Gandhi’s advice to a government committee to enumerate “untouchables” as Hindus underscores how census politics were intertwined with representation and power distribution in decolonizing India.

Advocacy for Caste Enumeration: The Case of Census 2011

Efforts to include a caste count in Census 2011 were led by a coalition of activists, politicians, public intellectuals, and former officials like M. Vijayanunni, retired head of the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI). Vijayanunni argued that the ORGI was uniquely equipped to conduct a caste-wise enumeration, citing its technical expertise and historical precedent. He noted that if the colonial state could manually process caste and religion data, the ORGI could do so in 2011 with modern technology. The question, he asserted, was not about capacity but willingness.

The advocacy campaign initially succeeded in securing a concession for a caste census. However, it faced institutional backlash, with executive bureaucrats employing bureaucratic deflection strategies to exclude caste from Census 2011. These strategies reinforced castelessness—the systemic erasure of caste data—in the census, state policy, and broader society.

Voices from the Margins: Dilip Mandal’s Journey

Dilip Mandal, a journalist from an oppressed-caste background, exemplifies the challenges of breaking caste barriers. After over 15 years as a writer, editor, and producer, Mandal became managing editor of a national magazine, one of the few oppressed-caste journalists to reach editorial ranks. His journey highlights the systemic inequalities a caste census could document, underscoring the need for data to address caste-based disparities.

Conclusion: The Path Forward

The history of caste enumeration in India reveals a pattern of political promises undermined by bureaucratic deflection and institutional resistance. While Bihar’s 2023 caste survey offers hope, it also reflects the central government’s strategy of decentralizing responsibility to avoid national accountability. For Census 2027 to advance caste equity, it must overcome these entrenched barriers through robust institutional commitment, transparency, and accountability. Without these, the census risks becoming yet another unfulfilled promise in India’s long struggle for caste justice.