New Delhi: With an eye on the Bihar elections, the Union government on Wednesday (April 30) announced that a caste census will be conducted along with the decadal census. Union minister for information and broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw made the announcement at a cabinet briefing. However, he did not provide any timeline for when the decadal census or the corresponding caste census will be conducted. The last population census was conducted in 2011 and the 2021 census, which was delayed by the pandemic, is yet to be conducted.“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cabinet committee on political affairs (CCPA) has decided that today i.e. April 30, 2025 that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census. This demonstrates that our government is committed to the values and interests of society and country. Like in the past, when our government had introduced 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) of society without causing any stress in any section,” said Vaishnaw.A nationwide caste census has been a longstanding demand of the opposition parties and was a central issue during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Vaishnaw, while making the announcement on Wednesday, accused the INDIA alliance of using the caste census as a “political tool” and said that Congress governments have “always opposed caste census”.“Congress governments have always opposed caste census. Caste was not included in [any of] the census operations conducted since Independence. In 2010, the late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that the caste census would be considered in the cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this. Most of the political parties had recommended this. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct only a survey of caste instead of a caste census. That survey is known as the socio-economic caste census (SECC). It is well known that the Congress and its INDI alliance partners have used caste census only as a political tool,” Vaishnaw said.The minister added that census is a Union subject under the Constitution and while some states have conducted such caste based surveys “well”, others have done it in a “non-transparent” manner. While Vaishnaw did not name any states, he alluded to the Bihar caste survey which was conducted in November 2023, when the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) was a part of the INDIA alliance before he returned to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold ahead of the general elections.A similar exercise has since been conducted in Congress-ruled Telangana, while in Karnataka the Siddaramaiah government has accepted a 10-year-old caste survey.“As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the subject census is listed as 69 in the Union list in the 7th schedule. According to the Constitution of India, census is a Union subject. Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate caste. Some states have done this well while some others have conducted such surveys purely from a political angle in a non transparent way. Such surveys have created doubts in the society,” said Vaishnaw.Vaishnaw said that the CCPA had decided that caste enumeration should be done in a transparent manner to not disturb the “social fabric” of the society.“Considering all these facts and to ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be done transparently included in the census instead of surveys. This will strengthen the social and economic structure of our society while the nation continues to progress,” he said.In a statement, Union home minister Amit Shah lauded the move as “historic”, but also did not provide any timeline for its rollout.Shah said that the move is a “message of strong commitment towards social equality” and that the “rights of every section has been given by deciding to include caste census in the upcoming census”.“The Congress and its allies opposed the caste census for decades while in power and played politics over it while in the opposition. This decision will empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion and pave new paths for the progress of the deprived,” he said.Vaishnaw’s announcement comes just months ahead of the Bihar assembly elections due later this year.The 2023 Bihar caste census, conducted by the Janata Dal (United) in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), had caused a political storm in the state.The JD(U)-RJD government passed crucial amendments in the state assembly to breach the Supreme Court mandated 50% ceiling on reservations. The amendments followed the caste survey in Bihar, which showed that 65% of Bihar’s population belonged to these four marginalised groups but had abysmal representation in government jobs and educational institutions. In June 2024, the Patna high court set aside the Bihar government’s decision to breach the ceiling on reservations. The case is now being heard in the Supreme Court.The Union government’s decision ahead of the Bihar elections comes in sharp reversal of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) stance in the 2024 election campaign when it had dismissed the demand for a caste census as a move to divide society. The BJP’s Bihar unit had fully supported the Nitish Kumar government in the assembly at the time.