Context
The Registrar General of India (RGI) has decided that caste enumeration in the upcoming Census will use an open-ended question instead of a predefined drop-down list. Enumerators will record the caste stated by respondents verbatim, without classifying surnames or sub-castes into broader categories.
Explanation
- Census is a Union subject under Entry 69 of the Union List in the Seventh Schedule.
- It is conducted under the Census Act, 1948; the Office of the Registrar General & CensusCommissioner, India functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
- Article 246 empowers Parliament to legislate on subjects in the Union List.
- Independent India’s regular Census has enumerated Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), but not a comprehensive caste-wise enumeration of all communities.
- The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011 collected caste information separately from the regular Population Census.
- Open-ended enumeration relies on self-identification, recording the respondent’s stated caste rather than selecting from predetermined categories.
- Caste data can assist evidence-based assessment of demography, social justice and affirmative-action policies, while requiring careful classification and data processing.
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