Congress Seeks Standardised Caste Census, Warns Open-Ended Questions May Affect Data Accuracy

NEW DELHI, Sep 9: The Congress on Wednesday stepped up its demand for changes in the ongoing caste census exercise, warning that the use of open-ended questions instead of a standardised caste list could result in multiple names, sub-castes and spellings being recorded for the same community, potentially affecting the accuracy of the final data.

The party said a caste census should go beyond simply counting communities and serve as an important instrument for social justice, equitable representation and evidence-based policymaking.

In a statement, the Congress said, “Caste census means not merely counting castes, but ensuring social justice,” and summed up its approach as: “Correct questions, correct data, correct share and social justice.”

The party alleged that despite repeated demands for changes, the Narendra Modi government had retained an open-ended format for recording caste identities instead of providing a verified and standardised list. It said this could lead members of the same caste to enter different names, sub-castes or spellings, creating inconsistencies in the data.

According to the Congress, such variations could have serious implications for the compilation, comparison and analysis of caste-wise data. The party also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to want the exercise to generate multiple names and variations for the same caste, which, it claimed, could undermine the purpose of the census.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had jointly written to Prime Minister Modi on August 20, raising concerns over the methodology being followed. The party said the Prime Minister had not responded to the letter so far.

Kharge and Gandhi had demanded that the existing questionnaire be withdrawn and replaced with a fresh questionnaire based on a verified and standardised caste list. They also cited caste surveys conducted in Telangana and Bihar as possible models, suggesting that enumeration could be carried out using a pre-prepared and authenticated list of castes.

The Congress has further called for broad consultations with political parties, experts and the public before any revised questionnaire is finalised. It maintained that standardisation is essential to ensure that the data collected is consistent, scientifically reliable and suitable for policymaking.

The issue assumes significance as caste-wise data is expected to provide a more comprehensive picture of India's social composition, with possible implications for affirmative action, political and institutional representation, welfare schemes and the distribution of public resources.

The Congress said it had organised 17 press conferences across the country over the past four days to reiterate its demand for a caste census based on a transparent, standardised and scientifically robust methodology.

The party maintained that accurate enumeration must form the foundation for determining representation and advancing social justice, warning that shortcomings in the data collection process could undermine the very purpose of conducting a caste census.