Caste census has emerged as the latest strategic tool in the arsenal of opposition parties, which want to woo and expand their voter base. Recently, Telangana passed a resolution for a caste survey in the Assembly, while Andhra Pradesh, having already completed the survey, is all set to release the report. Albeit politically motivated with caste sympathies, these are welcome moves.In this piece, I attempt to do a caste analysis of two indicators: 1. wealth and 2. quality of neighbourhood for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to get a sense of caste-based inequality in these states.We explore how likely or unlikely it is for a ‘lower’ caste individual to come from a wealthy family and a better-quality neighbourhood. I have used Young Lives: International Study of Childhood Poverty (2016-17) for the analysis.WealthThe graphs below show caste-wise kernel density plots for wealth. In Figure 1, the wealth distribution of the Open category (synonymous with the General category) has three important features: a. It is to the extreme right of the graph, b. Compared to other castes, it has a higher modal wealth level and c. It is less spread out relative to other curves. This shows that the General category tends to be wealthier relative to other castes. Additionally, within the caste, the probability of being poor is low.SC, ST and OBC, in general, are less wealthy relatively, as indicated by their curves being left to the Open category curve. Their distributions are also more spread out, indicating that within their caste, if a lot of individuals are wealthy a lot are poor too.Referring to the graph below to elaborate this further, it becomes evident that the probability of having a wealth index less than 0 is significantly higher for individuals who belong to SC, ST or even OBC, as compared to those in the OC category. Much of the upper tail of the wealth distribution is accounted for by the OC category. On another hand, the lower tail of the wealth distribution is mostly accounted for by the ST category.Figure 1: Andhra Pradesh Wealth DistributionIn Telangana, it is a similar story. The wealth distribution of SC, ST and OBC are extremely spread out, indicating that their probability of being on the lower end of the curve is higher than OC caste. In fact, at the lower end of the distribution, the likelihood of finding a poor person belonging to the OC category is 0. The entire lower half of the wealth index is occupied by SC, ST and OBC, making the wealth inequality starker in Telangana’s case.Figure 2: Telangana Wealth DistributionQuality of neighbourhoodHere quality of the neighbourhood measures factors like opportunities for education, opportunities of work, access to health services, quality of housing, and sanitation facilities in the neighbourhood. The graphs below show caste-wise kernel density plots for the quality of a neighbourhood.In Andhra Pradesh, as shown in Figure 3, there is little evidence of caste-based segregation regarding neighbourhood quality as the modal neighbourhood quality seems to be similar in all four castes.Figure 3 suggests that the state has somewhat succeeded in providing equitable access to opportunities and amenities for all caste groups. We do, however, see a slightly higher likelihood of individuals coming from lower-quality areas belonging to SC, ST and OBC as the lower tail of the distribution is dominated by these castes.An aberration here is the presence of ST in the upper tail of the distribution, meaning a higher likelihood of ST individuals’ presence there, even more so than OC individuals. While access mostly appears equitable, there remains significant room for improvement in service provision levels.Figure 3: Quality of Neighbourhood Distribution in Andhra PradeshTelangana also seems equitable in the dissemination of services across castes. The ST group does suffer, however, relative to other castes in the case of Telangana, as the distribution seems to be on the left of other curves and their presence is negligible in the upper distribution of the tail.Figure 4: Quality of Neighbourhood Distribution in Telangana.ConclusionEveryone knows of at least one person in their lives who, if not staunchly against reservation, does not withhold themselves from showing their dissatisfaction against caste-based affirmative action. Their argument goes typically like this, “People make a big deal about caste. I have had batchmates and colleagues who belong to the lower caste. Where is the suppression?”“Suppression is factual”, one could reply pulling out national-level and state-level reports or research papers. Lack of economic endowments, enforced social and spatial barriers, tacit exclusion and stereotyping in education institutions are some of the many reasons for their marginalisation. But what really brings it home for people such as above is when we start talking in probabilities.The analysis above finds a positive correlation between wealth and one’s caste in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. If an individual is poor, their likelihood of belonging to the OC category is very low in Andhra Pradesh and almost zero in Telangana, indicating stark wealth inequalities in both states.In both states, OBC is the second wealthiest caste group. We also see that STs in Andhra Pradesh are better off in terms of the quality of the neighbourhood they live in than in Telangana. An SC in Andhra Pradesh is more likely to live in a low-quality neighbourhood relative to other castes. This holds true for both SC and ST in Telangana. The levels of service provision are on the lower side in both states but ensure equity across castes.Konica Sehgal has an M.Phil in Economics, and is a teaching fellow at Krea University. She is a researcher working in the education and sustainability area.