Masterstroke by Modi government as Centre announces caste enumeration in next census, caste will now be…

In a serious option, the govt. on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be incorporated within the following census disclose in a “clear” formula and slammed the opposition events for using caste procure out about as a “political instrument”.

The Congress and diverse opposition events were vociferously annoying a nationwide caste census, making it a serious election issue, and a few states treasure Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have performed such surveys.

The govt.option comes forward of assembly elections in Bihar, the save just a few events alongside with some BJP allies were popping out in make stronger of the caste census.

Asserting the option taken by the Cupboard Committee on Political Affairs, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw mentioned the census comes under the purview of the Centre, but some states have accomplished caste enumeration within the name of surveys “non-transparently” which has created doubts within the society.

Noting that caste used to be now not incorporated in all census operations performed since Independence, Vaishnaw alleged that the Congress governments have always adversarial caste census and the birthday party had aged the issue as a political instrument.

“Pondering all these info and to make certain that that the social cloth is now not timid by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently incorporated within the Census in preference to surveys,” he mentioned, alongside with that this would increase the social and economic structure of our society whereas the nation continues to development.

The minister alleged that the states dominated by opposition events have accomplished caste surveys for political causes and emphasised that the Modi govt has resolved to transparently encompass caste enumeration within the drawing discontinuance pan-India census disclose. The opposition INDIA bloc had made caste census a serious pollplank in basically the most modern elections, with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi promising representation to of us in line with their inhabitants.

“Higher slack than never,” Congress stylish secretary in-price communications Jairam Ramesh mentioned in a put up on X, reacting to the govt. announcement.

He mentioned the birthday party had raised the issue in its option on social justice, which used to be passed in Ahmedabad on April 9, 2025, and likewise shared an April 16, 2023 letter of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he had demanded that the decennial census be performed and a comprehensive caste census be made a part of it.

The closing nationwide census used to be carried out in 2011 and the following decadal one used to be to beginning in April 2020 but obtained delayed resulting from the Covid pandemic.

Though Dwelling Minister Amit Shah had mentioned slack closing 365 days that the census would be performed “very quickly”, there may be no readability as yet on when exactly the disclose would be performed.

“In the CCPA assembly held these days under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji a message of stable dedication in opposition to social equality and rights of each and every thing has been given by deciding to encompass caste census within the upcoming census,” Shah wrote on X in Hindi. He alleged the Congress and its allies adversarial the caste census for decades whereas in energy and performed politics over it whereas within the opposition.

“This option will empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion, and pave new paths for the event of the deprived,” he mentioned.

Vaishnaw mentioned in 2010, the then high minister Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that the topic of caste census should be concept of within the Cupboard. A community of ministers used to be fashioned to method discontinuance into consideration this after many of the political events had suggested a caste census.

“Regardless of this, the Congress govt made up our minds to conduct best a procure out about in preference to a caste census. That procure out about is identified as SECC.

“It is correctly understood that the Congress and its INDI alliance companions have aged Caste Census best as a political instrument,” the minister alleged.

The principle caste enumeration in self reliant India used to be performed in 2011 and used to be identified because the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011. The census at some level of the British rule between 1881 and 1931 incorporated caste enumeration, but put up-independence the govt. made up our minds in 1951 now not to encompass caste within the census, aside from for SCs and STs.

Vaishnaw mentioned that under Article 246 of the Constitution, the field ‘census’ is listed within the Union list under entry 69 and in line with the Constitution, the Census is a Union field. He mentioned some states have performed surveys to enumerate castes.

Some states have accomplished this correctly, whereas some others have performed such surveys purely from a political perspective in a non-clear method. Such surveys have created doubts within the society, he mentioned.

“Below the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, the Cupboard Committee on Political Affairs has made up our minds these days (thirtieth April 2025) that caste enumeration should be incorporated within the drawing discontinuance Census,” the minister mentioned.

“This demonstrates that our govt is dedicated to the values and interests of our society and nation, treasure within the past when our govt had launched 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections of the society with out inflicting stress in any a part of the society,” Vaishnaw mentioned at the briefing.