CHENNAI: DMK president and former chief minister MK Stalin on Sunday urged the union government to revise the methodology proposed for recording caste details under Census 2027, warning that the open-ended format could lead to inconsistencies and undermine the objective of the caste-wise population enumeration.
He also called upon the Tamil Nadu government to pass a special resolution in the ongoing Assembly session to reflect the sentiments of the people and exert necessary pressure on the union government to make the necessary changes.
In a statement on X, Stalin said the centre’s decision to use an “open-ended format to record caste details without a pre-determined drop-down list or standardised menu” for enumerating members of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was disappointing.
He rejected the centre’s explanation that the OBC list comprises “classes” and not castes, and argued that the enumeration should be carried out in consultation with state governments. “The centre should obtain the lists of castes under the backward and most backward categories in each state from the respective state governments, compile and upload them, and provide people with the option to select their caste from the list,” the former CM said.
He cautioned that allowing respondents to enter caste names manually would result in significant discrepancies.
“There is a danger of a confusing figure showing that there are 46 lakh castes in India,” he said, referring to concerns raised by several social justice advocates.
Stalin said the purpose of a caste-wise census was to determine the actual population of OBC communities and assess their educational, social and economic status.
Such data, he said, would enable governments to formulate reservation policies and welfare programmes.
“The objective of the caste-wise census can be fulfilled only if people are allowed to select their caste name from the lists of OBC castes maintained by the union and state governments. If the present method is continued, there is a danger that the nearly `12,000 crore spent on the census and the efforts of lakhs of government employees will be wasted. It will serve no purpose and could end up being merely an eyewash,” the DMK chief said.