PIB DELHIThe Committee on Political Affairs of the Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to include caste census in the upcoming census. This shows the present government's commitment to the overall interests and values of the nation and society.
According to Article 246 of the Indian Constitution, the Census is the subject of the Union, which is mentioned at 69th position in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule. Although some states have conducted surveys for caste-wise calculation, transparency and objectives have been different. Some surveys have been completely conducted in view of politics, which has led to dilemma in the society. Keeping in mind all these situations and to ensure that social fabric free from political pressure, it has been decided to conduct caste-wise census in the main census instead of separate surveys.
This will ensure that the society remains economically and socially strong and the progress of the country continues without any obstruction. It is noteworthy that there was no provision of 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections, stress in any section of the society was not created.
Caste has been excluded in all the census since the independence of the country. In the year 2010, the then Prime Minister Late Dr. Manmohan Singh assured the Lok Sabha that the issue of caste census would be considered in the cabinet. A group of ministers were also formed to discuss this subject. Apart from this, most political parties recommended the caste -wise census. Despite this, the previous government opted for socio-economic and caste census survey (SECC) instead of caste census.