The demand for caste census has been arising for a long time regarding the population of which caste in India. Now a big step in this direction is that the delegation of leaders of ten parties, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, met PM Modi regarding the caste census. Now all the parties are waiting for the decision of PM Modi.
Census in the country was started in the year 1881. Census is held every 10 years. The last caste-based census was conducted in the year 1931. From 1941 till now the census of SC, ST is done. There is no separate census for the rest of the castes. So far, only religion figures are published in the census. For this reason, there has been a demand for caste census in the country for many years.
country’s population – according to religion
| Religion | population | Percent |
| Country | 121 crore | 100 |
| Hindu | 96.62 crore | 79.79 |
| Muslim | 17.22 crore | 14.22 |
| Christian | 2.78 crore | 2.29 |
| Sikh | 2.08 crore | 1.72 |
| Buddhist | 84.42 lakh | 0.69 |
| Jain | 44.51 lakh | 0.36 |
Parties demanding caste census
- Janata Dal United
- Rashtriya Janata Dal
- Hum – Jitan Ram Manjhi
- Samajwadi Party
- Bahujan samaj party
- Apna Dal
- RPI (A) Ram Dass Athawale
- BJP leader Pankaja Munde
- Biju Janata Dal
- Telugu Desam Party
- YSR Congress Party
Caste Census – Arguments in Pros and Cons
argument in favor
- necessary for the development program
- Helpful in making government policies and plans
- Will know which caste is the victim of backwardness
- Get real information about economic, social and education
- If SC, ST are there, then what about the rest?
argument in opposition
- The benefits of schemes are being given on the basis of survey
- The social fabric of the country may deteriorate
- adverse effect on family planning efforts
- The country’s population may increase further
- SC-ST needed for reservation in House and Legislative Assemblies
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