Caste Census Gets Broad Support Across Parties, But Sparks Questions On Timing

Nagpur: The Centre's decision to carry out a nationwide caste-based census — India's first since 1931 — has drawn wide approval across party lines but also raised concerns about timing and intent, particularly from opposition leaders.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the move, calling it "a historic decision that will open a new chapter in the nation's development narrative". He said, "It will provide the govt with crucial empirical data to ensure that benefits of welfare schemes reach the truly deserving among the socially backward classes. The 1931 caste census was the last such effort. Since then, successive Congress govts failed to take this bold step. Even in 2011, the Manmohan Singh-led govt initially promised a caste census but ultimately conducted an ambiguous survey with no official outcomes. It was politicised. This is a landmark moment under Prime Minister Modi's leadership for the last man in the queue."
Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar supported the decision but questioned its political timing. "The OBC community has long been denied its rightful share. This census could help address that. But it should not be another poll-time promise made with Bihar in mind," he cautioned.
Maharashtra revenue minister and senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule termed the decision "a golden and historic day". He credited Prime Minister Modi for meeting a long-pending demand. "Earlier censuses only included SCs and STs. This will ensure comprehensive enumeration for all communities," he said.
In contrast, MPCC president Harshwardhan Sapkal described the move as "a moral and historic victory" for Rahul Gandhi. "Rahul Gandhi always believed caste census is key to social justice. The BJP has now accepted what it once opposed," he said, adding that the next step should be to remove the 50% cap on reservations. "True development must reach Dalits, OBCs, and other backward groups. We now await the day when the RSS names a backward or Dalit leader to its top post," he added.
Nitin Choudhary, national convenor of the Rashtriya OBC Mukti Morcha, welcomed the decision but urged the govt to go beyond tokenism. "The Centre has finally recognised that caste census is about equality, not casteism. But this must not remain a mere database. It should become the basis for rational, inclusive national development," he said. Choudhary noted that if conducted through the Census Commission as part of the decennial process, this would be India's first official caste census in nearly a century.
While the political class appears broadly aligned on the importance of a caste census, concerns persist over how the data will be used — whether to shape long-term social policy or merely to serve short-term electoral goals.