The Union government has decided to include caste enumeration in the upcoming Census.
A major challenge is the lack of a complete and official list of all castes and communities in India.
The only existing lists are for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The last caste-based Census was in 1931, which counted over 4,147 castes and sub-castes.
Today, over 3,651 OBC communities, 1,170 SCs, and 850 STs exist across India, with many overlaps across states.
The Anthropological Survey’s “People of India” project lists 4,635 communities, including 2,203 from the General category.
Experts say the first step is to create a verified, public list of castes with input from academics, the public, and caste groups.
In 2011, the SECC mistakenly recorded over 46 lakh castes due to people entering surnames as caste, causing data inflation.
Linguistic and regional diversity adds complexity, as many castes are known by different names in different areas.
Caste is not static — new caste identities have emerged, and old groupings have splintered or re-identified themselves.
A big challenge is not just listing castes, but also correctly classifying them based on region, function, or historical context.
Public discussion and feedback on the list is essential before finalizing it.
Regional-level data collection, like Bihar’s model, is seen as the most practical approach.
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