Editorial: Census work brooks no delay

Without reliable data, no welfare programme can be effective, however lofty its objectives may be. While the aim of any affirmative action programme is to reduce the socio-economic inequalities and lift the disadvantaged sections out of poverty, the key ingredient in this task is the data that is accurate, reliable and reflective of the ground realities. In effect, data drives any social policy. Given the urgency of the task, the Centre’s decision to further postpone the census work is truly perplexing. The government had recently informed Parliament that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, field activities for the census have been put off. This is not a convincing argument because the economic and social activities have completely resumed across the country. There is no reason to postpone the exercise that is key to formulating welfare policies. Since the first census in 1872, the census fieldwork was never missed because it provides foundational data. A census is not merely an enumeration of the population but covers critical data that feed into the creation of a demographic, social and economic profile of the population. A comprehensive and truthful census data collection is key to all socioeconomic policies and their effectiveness. In view of the changing social realities on the ground, there is now a strong case for taking up caste census in the country. Though the Constitution doesn’t explicitly allow the States to conduct a census, the Supreme Court has made quantifiable data on backwardness the key criterion for clearing State-level caste quotas in jobs, education and elected bodies.

For this to be effective, one needs to count the population based on their caste. On this front, the Telangana government has been at the forefront of espousing the cause and has already got the Assembly to pass a resolution, urging the Centre to include the caste-based enumeration in the census work. However, it is baffling that the union government had, in its submission before the Supreme Court in September last year, opposed caste-based census, saying the exercise was administratively difficult and cumbersome. The TRS had also raised the issue in Parliament and reminded the NDA government of its unfulfilled promise in this regard. States like Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha are also keen on conducting caste surveys. Attempts by some States in the past for caste-based enumeration did not make much headway. There is a need for conducting a national caste census to identify socially, economically, and educationally backward communities and increase reservations proportionate to their population. Even a cursory glance at the employee data reveals that the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) account for less than 10% of the total number of government employees. If the caste census was carried out with sincerity, it would have helped the successive governments to take up recruitment accordingly.