The demand for a caste census in India has been a recurring topic of debate, with various political and social groups advocating for its inclusion in the national Census.
Following table explores the key point of Bihar caste survey data 2023.
| Aspect |
Information |
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Type of Census Data |
Census in independent India (1951-2011) published data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but not on other castes.<br> - Caste data was collected in 1941 but not published.<br> - Caste data was included in Census until 1931.
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Demand for Caste Census |
Demand for a caste census comes up before almost every Census, with OBCs and deprived sections supporting it and upper castes opposing it.<br> - Opposition parties have recently been vocal about the caste census, particularly in Census 2021.
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Current Government's Stand |
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai stated that the Government of India has decided not to enumerate caste-wise population other than SCs and STs in Census.<br> - However, in 2018, there was an announcement to collect data on OBCs for Census 2021. No official minutes of the meeting were provided in response to an RTI request. |
