Context : Various political parties and organisation are demanding caste census .
Relevance: GS-2 (Governance)
Historical Efforts:First caste Census: 1871-72.
- Last comprehensive Census: 1931, identifying over 4,000 castes with regional variations.
- 2011 attempt faced challenges due to classification complexities.
Benefits
Policy Formulation:
- Provides precise data for targeted welfare schemes.
- Helps in evidence-based planning for socio-economic upliftment.
Equitable Resource Allocation:
- Aids in fair distribution of government jobs, education, and other benefits.
- Ensures marginalized groups receive adequate representation.
Socio-Economic Analysis:
- Highlights disparities among communities.
- Helps address structural inequalities.
Better Governance:
- Strengthens the design of affirmative action policies.
- Improves monitoring of social justice initiatives.
Challenges
- Caste Mobility:
- Upward: Claims for higher status over time.
- Downward: Strategic claims for benefits post-independence.
- Misclassification: Similar-sounding castes and surnames leading to confusion.
- Sensitive Nature: Social discomfort in discussing caste impacts data accuracy.
- Proportional Representation Issues: Difficulty in implementing reservations at the individual caste level.
