Spasht.
Caste census: how to count caste

Census office yet to decide how open-column caste answers will be sorted, officials say

25 Sept 2026 · 2 outlets · 1 min read

AI illustration
In 30 seconds
  1. Critics say the method could repeat the 2011 caste survey, which returned over 46 lakh distinct caste names.
  2. Scholar G.N. Devy said the delay could be used to postpone releasing data; officials did not respond to that point.
  3. On 14 September the National BC Dal asked for clear rules to merge different names for the same community.

Officials told The Hindu on 25 September 2026 that no decision had been taken on how caste names typed into the open column will be sorted and tabulated. A senior official said discussions had not started and would happen as fieldwork progresses. A proposal will go from the Registrar General's office to the Union Home Secretary, and the final call will be taken by the Home Ministry or the Union Cabinet.

Checked

Claim by claim

✓Verified

The government has not yet decided how to sort and tabulate open-column caste data.

Based on statements by officials to The Hindu on 25 September 2026; no public notification on tabulation exists in the sources reviewed.

The Hindu
✓Verified

The 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census returned over 46 lakh distinct caste names.

The Hindu reports 'over 46 lakh'; Swarajya gives 46.7 lakh distinct entries.

The Hindu · Swarajya
?Unverified

The government wants to postpone releasing caste data 'in the name of rationalisation'.

Said by G.N. Devy, scholar

An inference about intent. Officials say sorting will be discussed as fieldwork progresses; there is no evidence either way on release timing.

The Hindu
In their own words

What each side says

Census officials

A senior official said discussions on making sense of the caste data will happen as fieldwork progresses, with each Census division handling tabulation for its own questions before a final decision by the Ministry or Cabinet.

The Hindu
OBC groups and critics

National BC Dal president Dundra Kumaraswamy said one community recorded under a hundred different names could lose its collective identity in the official record, and called for transparent standards to link variants. G.N. Devy said experts should have been involved when the questions were finalised.

The Hindu
Open-column supporters

Swarajya argues the classification stage is where scrutiny belongs, and that coding rules and raw frequency tables should be published before tabulation so decisions are on record.

Swarajya
Honest gaps

Not yet known

  • ?Whether an expert body will be named to classify caste returns, and on what deadline.
Who reported this

Sources

Left-leaning · 1Right-leaning · 1

2 outlets across the spectrum. Leanings are a rough guide to who reported it, not a verdict on accuracy.

  1. The HinduGovernment yet to decide how open-column caste data will be sorted, tabulated
  2. The HinduBackward Classes group raises concern over challenges to caste census
  3. SwarajyaCensus 2027's Open Caste Column Is Not Sabotage. It Is The Only Honest Way To Count.

Spasht writes original summaries. Follow the links to read each outlet's own report. Revision 1.