Spasht.
Caste census: how to count caste

Kharge and Rahul Gandhi ask PM to scrap census caste questionnaire; BJP calls objection 'panic'

25 Aug 2026 · 5 outlets · 1 min read

AI illustration
In 30 seconds
  1. The letter says an open question could split one caste into thousands of names and undercount backward communities.
  2. It notes the form never uses the term 'backward class', so the size of the OBC population may stay unknown.
  3. Maurya, UP's Deputy Chief Minister, said Congress never held a caste census in power and the Modi government now is.

On 25 August 2026, Congress released a letter dated 20 August in which Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, Leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the census caste questionnaire. They proposed a drop-down list of castes, as used in the Bihar and Telangana surveys. BJP leader Keshav Prasad Maurya said Congress's reaction reflected 'panic and consternation'.

Checked

Claim by claim

✓Verified

The joint letter was dated 20 August 2026 and released at a press conference on 25 August.

The Hindu reports the letter date and its release by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh.

The Hindu
✓Verified

No national census since 1931 has counted every caste.

Scroll reports that India last counted all caste groups in 1931.

Scroll
⇄Disputed

An open caste question could result in 'a single caste being divided into thousands of names'.

Said by Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi

Swarajya reports the 2011 SECC's open field returned 46.7 lakh distinct entries, which supports the concern, but argues raw entries can be cleaned at tabulation, as the census already does for mother tongue.

The Times of India · Swarajya
In their own words

What each side says

Congress

Kharge and Gandhi said they 'do not accept' the census being conducted this way and asked for a new questionnaire after consulting parties, experts and the public, with a standard caste list drawn from government lists and the Anthropological Survey of India.

Scroll · The Hindu
BJP

Keshav Prasad Maurya said the decision to count caste shows the Modi government's commitment to social justice and that Congress, which 'never conducted a caste census', was reacting out of 'panic and consternation'.

Asianet Newsable (ANI)
Honest gaps

Not yet known

  • ?Whether the Prime Minister's Office will respond; Congress says two earlier letters on the subject got no reply.
Who reported this

Sources

Left-leaning · 2Centre · 2Right-leaning · 1

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

  1. ScrollCensus: Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge urge PM Modi to cancel current caste questionnaire
  2. The HinduKharge, Rahul Gandhi write to PM, seek fresh questionnaire for effective caste census
  3. The Times of India'Withdraw existing questionnaire': Kharge, Rahul Gandhi write to PM Modi over caste census issue
  4. Asianet Newsable (ANI)Caste Census row: Cong flags open-ended entries, fears data flaw
  5. 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.