Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to integrate the caste census in the upcoming national decadal census and not to delay the census any further which was due in 2021.
In a letter to the prime minister, Stalin urged the Centre to plan and commence works for conducting a comprehensive caste census in India. Stalin said, “Since caste has historically been a key determinant of the prospects of social progress in our society, it is essential that factual data on it is made available in the public domain. Only this can empower various stakeholders and policymakers to analyze the impact of our past programmes and plan the strategies for the future.”
The Tamil Nadu chief minister said census data provides the foundation for framing specific policies for the socio-economic development of the underprivileged. Stalin added the last caste census was conducted in the country in 1931 and there was a lack of contemporary data. “In the last 90 years, the demographic and socio-economic landscape of our country has undergone many changes. But the underprivileged sections of our society continue to remain backward, in spite of numerous past policy actions. Hence, it is vital that contemporary data derived from a common standard process at the national level is cumulated to address all the pressing issues related to social justice, equity and inclusivity,” he said.
Appreciating the caste survey conducted by Bihar and similar initiatives announced by other states, the Tamil Nadu chief minister said that such efforts lack “the advantage of a nationwide comparability”. “They lack the statutory stamp without a legislative backing for such data collection since census as a subject is in Union list,” he said. Stalin added, “We are of the considered view that only a statutory Census of India, with critical caste-related data inputs, would be able to provide an appropriate platform for upholding social justice.”
“Undertaking this task concurrently with the decadal census would not only ensure comparability of data across the nation but also optimize resource utilization,” he said.
Opposition parties have been urging the Centre to conduct a caste census in the country and several states have already announced such initiatives in their respective states. The caste census is one of the major poll planks of INDIA alliance.