caste census

8/7/2019 Caste Census

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Caste Census: Cabinet Clears Caste Census In 2011

After several deliberations within the government on the politically-sensitive issue, the Unioncabinet decided to carry out a separate house-to house caste enumeration from June to September

next year.

Giving in to demands from almost all political parties, government on Sep 9 2010. decided to

hold caste census next year under an exercise to be carried out separately from the enumerationof population.

After several deliberations within the government on the politically-sensitive issue, the Union

cabinet decided to carry out a separate house-to-house caste enumeration from June toSeptember next year.

According to home minister P. Chidambaram, after considering various options, the option that

we have approved is, based on the responses of various political parties, that caste must be

canvassed and the integrity of the headcount must not be affected. The caste enumeration will beconducted in a phased manner after the population enumeration, which will include biometriccapture and headcount, is completed by March next year, he said. He evaded a reply when asked

whether caste enumeration would be merged with the headcount.

The decision has been taken after considering options suggested by the Group of Ministers

(GoM) set up on the issue and the consultations that finance minister Pranab Mukherjee heldwith leaders of various parties.

Parties like Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal (United) had disrupted

proceedings in Parliament for several days during the Budget and Monsoon sessions while

pressing for caste census.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which was divided initially, later decided to support it. The issueeven divided the Congress as well as the Union cabinet with some favouring caste census and

others opposing it, prompting the government to set up a GoM to consider all aspects related tosuch a move.

Chidambaram said a suitable legal regime for collection of data on castes would be formulated in

consultation with the ministry of law and justice.

There will be an additional cost for the exercise which will be assessed at a separate meeting.

The office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner would conduct the fieldoperations of the caste enumeration.

The Central government will constitute an expert group to classify the caste/tribe returns after the

enumeration is completed. The office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner wouldhand over the details of the castes/tribes returned in the enumeration to the proposed expert

group.


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The last caste-wise census was held in 1931 and such a practice had been given up as a matter ofpolicy after Independence.

In response to the demands for enumerating castes other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes in the Census 2011 raised inside Parliament as well as by various groups outside, the

ministry of home affairs submi 7ed a note to the Union cabinet in May 2010 pertaining to thisissue.

India launches Census 2011, the biggest-ever in history

India on Apr 01, 2010 launched Census 2011,ftft the biggest-ever census a7empted in the

history of mankind enumerating the country's 1.2 billion population and classifying usualresidents according to their gender, religion, occupation and education.

The massive exercise, to be spread over next 11 months, will mark a milestone as the first-ever

National Population Register (NPR) will also be prepared in which all persons aged over 15

years will be photographed and fingerprinted to create a biometric national database. With thisIndia will probably become the first democratic nation in the world which would have got itspopulation fingerprinted in a year from now.

As the first citizen of the country, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil was the first person to belisted in the decennial exercise. She appealed to her compatriots to follow her example for the

good of the nation.

The 15th National Census exercise, since 1872, will see over 25 lakh officials capturing the socioeconomic cultural profile of its citizens. It will cost around Rs. 2,209 crore while the expenditure

on NPR will be Rs. 3,539.24 crore. The exercise will also consume more than 11 million tonnes

of paper.

During the massive exercise, the enumerators for the first time will collect information likeownership of mobile phones, computers, internet, having treated or untreated drinking water

facility and usage of banking services. They will also seek additional information for the creationof NPR. The government has already said that no information will be collected on castes as no

caste-based census has ever been conducted in independent India.

The second phase, called the Population Enumeration phase, will be conducted simultaneouslyall over the country from February 9 to 28, 2011, and the entire exercise would be completed by

March 5, 2011.

All 640 districts, 5,767 tehsils, 7,742 towns and more than six lakh villages will be covered.

What is Census

The Indian Census is the most credible source of information on Demography (Population

characteristics), Economic Activity, Literacy & Education, Housing & Household Amenities,


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Urbanization, Fertility and Mortality, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Language,Religion, Migration, Disability and many other socio-cultural and demographic data since 1872.

Census 2011 will be the 15th National Census of the country. This is the only source of primarydata at village, town and ward level. It provides valuable information for planning and

formulation of polices for Central & State Governments and is widely used by National &

International agencies, scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more. Thedelimitation/reservation of Constituencies.

Parliamentary/Assembly/Panchayats and other Local Bodies is also done on the basis of thedemographic data thrown up by the Census. Census is the basis for reviewing the country's

progress in the past decade, monitoring the on-going schemes of the Government and mostimportantly, plan for the future. That is why the slogan of Census 2011 is "Our Census, Our

Future".

National Population Register

The NPR would be a Register of usual residents of the country. The NPR will be acomprehensive identity database that would help in be7er targeting of the benefits and servicesunder the Government schemes/programmes, improve planning and help strengthen security of

the country. This is being done for the first time in the country.

How will both these exercises be conducted?

The Census is a statutory exercise conducted under the provisions of the Census Act 1948 and

Rules made there under. The NPR is being created under the provisions of the Citizenship Actand Rules.

Census Process

The Census process involves visiting each and every household and gathering particulars byasking questions and filling up Census Forms. The information collected about individuals is

kept absolutely confidential. In fact this information is not accessible even to Courts of law.After the field work is over the forms are transported to data processing centres located at 15

cities across the country. The data processing will be done using sophisticated software calledIntelligent Character Recognition Software (ICR). This technology was pioneered by India in

Census 2001 has become the benchmark for Censuses all around the globe. This involves thescanning of the Census Forms at high speed and extracting the data automatically using

computer software. This revolutionary technology has enabled the processing of the voluminousdata in a very short time and saving a huge amount of manual labour and cost.

NPR Process

Details such as Name, Date of Birth, Sex, Present Address, Permanent Address, Names ofFather, Mother and Spouse etc will be gathered by visiting each and every household. All usual

residents will be eligible to be included irrespective of their Nationality. Each and every


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household will be given an Acknowledgement Slip at the time of enumeration. The data will thenbe entered into computers in the local language of the State as well as in English. Once this

database has been created, biometrics such as photograph, 10 fingerprints and probably Irisinformation will be added for all persons aged 15 years and above. This will be done by

arranging camps at every village and at the ward level in every town. Each household will be

required to bring the Acknowledgement Slip to such camps. Those who miss these camps will begiven the opportunity to present themselves at permanent NPR Centres to be set up at theTehsil/Town level. In the next step, data will be printed out and displayed at prominent places

within the village and ward for the public to see. Objections will be sought and registered at thisstage. Each of these objections will then be enquired into by the local Revenue Department

Officer and a proper disposal given in writing.

Persons aggrieved by such order have a right of appeal to the Tehsildar and then to the DistrictCollector. Once this process is over, the lists will be placed in the Gram Sabha in villages and the

Ward Commi7ee in towns. Claims and Objections will be received at this stage also and dealtwith in the same manner described above. The Gram Sabha/Ward Commi7ee has to give its

clearance or objection within a fixed period of time after which it will be deemed that the listshave been cleared. The lists thus authenticated will then be sent to the Unique Identity Authority

of India (UIDAI) for de-duplication and issue of UID Numbers. All duplicates will be eliminatedat this stage based on comparison of biometrics. Unique ID numbers will also be generated for

every person. The cleaned database along with the UID Number will then be sent back to theOffice of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (ORG&CCI) and would form

the National Population Register. As the UID system works on the basis of biometric de-duplication, in the case of persons of age 15 years and above (for whom biometrics is available),

the UID Number will be available for each individual. For those below the age of 15 years (forwhom biometrics is not available), the UID Number will be linked to the parent or guardian.

Will Caste Census in India Change Anything?The recent approval by the Government of India for caste based census has aroused concernsamong political parties as well as social scientists and ethnographers. For the self-proclaimed

modernists such regressive measures are likely to heighten caste consciousness among Indians.While the pragmatists argue that data on caste can help the government to be7er target

affirmative action policies and thereby address caste differences rationally. The fact however isthe that caste as a social reality in India draws succour from multiple sources which will remain

untouched by either the proposed census or the resultant official policies. Caste issues influenceeveryday life of Indians in countless ways.

For those who think that caste in India is merely a tool of political opportunism or a remnant ofancient Hindu culture, visit to the rural regions of North Kerala during the winter months can be

surprising and unnerving. Every year as the winter sets in, rural areas of North Kerala prepare fora unique transformation of social relations. Theyyam is an art form where performers, belonging

to lower castes, are believed to be incarnated by local deities and members of higher castes flockto seek their blessing. For three months of the year individuals from the lower castes are elevated

to the status of God but have to live as untouchables once the Theyy am season culminates.


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Numerous rituals and customs like Theyyam continue to nourish the practice of caste differencesin India. One only needs to skim through the matrimonial columns in leading English dailies to

get a sense that caste is an important consideration even for the modern elite segment of theurban Indian population.

Stephen P. Rosen in his book Societies and Military Power: India and its Army discuss thecontinuing salience of caste in Indias army. Though many would consider Rosens conclusionssomewhat extreme but he does raise several valid concerns. The ba7alions in the Indian Army

continue to be organised as the Jat, Sikh, Dogra or Rajput regiments.

The Poona Pact between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar in 1932 granting reservation fordepressed classes in the provincial legislatures was a precursor for the phenomenal political

salience of caste in Indian politics. From the Backward Classes Commissions endeavour tocreate a master list of other backwards classes in 1955 to KHAM (Kshatriyas, Harijans,

Adivasis and Muslims) politics of the Congress (I) in the 1980s; from the Mandal Commissionuproar in the 1990s to growing mass appeal of Dalit based political parties like the Bahujan

Samaj Party, Indias political arena has witnessed countless caste inspired stirrings. No observerof Indian politics can ignore the role of caste in determining electoral outcomes.

Moreover, even before the on-going controversy over the 2010 caste census erupted, theGovernment of India had been involved in many projects categorizing its population along caste

lines. Despite criticisms from historians, political scientists and anthropologists the Governmentof India did not abandon the colonial states practice of differentiating people along lines of caste

and religion in the People of India projects. According to Susan Bayly, in the late 1990s theAnthropological Survey of India was undertaking massive exercise in caste-based data

collection- the People of India Project- with funding from Planning Commission. The project hasused DNA sampling to identify difference between individual castes and tribes. Readers are told

that as composite type, the Scheduled Castes have relatively broad noses; chamars saysanother entry are characterized by a long, narrow head shape and a long moderately broad nasal

shape. Such, outrageous distinctions based on caste in a report sponsored by a State agency hadgone completely unnoticed by the modernists and pragmatics involved in recent debate.

Though previous censuses have not included questions of caste directly, the ethnographic notesin the census reports have contributed much to literature on caste in India.

According to the pragmatists India cannot simply assume modernity by ignoring caste. They

see caste as a form of social stratification much like class in Britain or race in the U.S. The U.S.census and job applications have a voluntary disclosure segment requiring information about the

individuals race. Comparing caste with class and race appears incorrect if one realises thatunlike other forms of social stratifications, caste in India is allegedly sanctioned by the sacred

scriptures. Even though the scriptural sanctity of caste is open to debate many Indians cite theManusmriti and Bhagavad Gita to support arguments in favour of caste. It is much simpler to

address differentiations based on skin colour or nationality than stratifications perceived to beordained by religious texts.


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Caste based social practices in India go beyond the more visible political and economicdimensions and these subtle aspects are unlikely to be impacted by the enumeration of caste

through the census.

Brief History of Census

The earliest literature 'Rig-Veda' reveals that some kind of population count was maintained in

during 800-600 BC in India. The celebrated 'Arthashastr' by 'Kautilya' wri7en in the 3rd CenturyBC prescribed the collection of population statistics as a measure of state policy for taxation. It

contained a detailed description of methods of conducting population, economic and agriculturalcensuses. During the regime of the Mughal king Akbar, the administrative report 'Ain-e-Akbar'

included comprehensive data pertaining to population, industry, wealth and many othercharacteris tics.

A systematic and modern population census, in its present form was conducted non

synchronously between 18ti5 and 1872 in different parts of the country. This effort culminating

in 1872 has been popularly labeled as the first population census of India However, the firstsynchronous census in India was held in 1881. Since then, censuses have been undertakenuninterruptedly once every ten year.

The Census of India 2001 was the fourteenth census in the continuous series as reckonedfrom1872 and the sixth since independence. The gigantic task of census taking was completed in

two phases. In the first phase, known as House -listing Operations, all building and structures,residential, partly residential or non- residential were identified and listed and the uses to which

they were put recorded. Information on houses, household amenities and assets were alsocollected. In the second phase, known as Population Enumeration, more detailed information on

each individual residing in the country, Indian national or otherwise, during the enumeration

period was collected.

At the Census 2001, more than 2 million (or 20 lakh) enumerators were deployed to collect the

information by visiting every household. The Indian Census is one of the largest administrativeexercises undertaken in the world

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