PNS|Hyderabad
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) adopted a resolution at its meeting held on Friday in New Delhi, saying that the caste census model followed by Telangana provides an effective framework that the Centre must follow.
In Telangana, the caste survey plan was developed through a consultative, transparent process, with the active involvement of civil society, social scientists, and community leaders. Rather than being a closed bureaucratic exercise, it was open to public inputs and scrutiny. The CWC strongly urged the Centre to adopt a similar approach for the national caste census.
“We offer our full support in helping the government shape a credible, scientific, and participatory model. We are ready to collaborate on designing a framework that reflects the values of consultation, accountability and inclusiveness,” the CWC said.
The CWC said that this exercise must not be delayed. “All political parties must be taken into full confidence. Parliament must immediately hold a debate on this issue. The government must immediately allocate funds and announce a clear timeline for every stage of the census, from the preparation of the questionnaire and methodology to the actual enumeration, classification, and eventual publication of the data. The process must be transparent at every step. The data collected should serve as the basis for a wide-ranging review of public policy, especially in the areas of reservations, welfare schemes, educational access, and employment opportunities. The CWC believes that a caste census, properly designed and implemented, will benefit all sections of society,” the CWC resolution adopted on Friday said.
The resolution added, “After 11 years of opposition and stubborn refusal, the Modi government has finally conceded the demand of the Congress to collect population data caste wise, during the next census. For 11 years, the Prime Minister attacked the Congress for raising this demand. No details, however, have been provided
of what the government intends to do, and no financial allocations have been made.”
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Prime Minister on April 16, 2023, demanding a caste census. He had also demanded an up-to-date and comprehensive caste census. He has also been demanding the removal of the arbitrary ceiling of 50% on reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBC.
Rahul Gandhi has been the strongest voice demanding a nationwide caste census. At the 2022 Nav Sankalp Shivir in Udaipur, he said there was an urgent need to gather data on caste so that government policies could truly reflect the realities of the marginalised.
This demand was reiterated at the Congress plenary in Raipur in 2023, and was a central feature of both the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha manifestos of the Congress.
In Parliament, in speeches across the country, and during the two Bharat Jodo Yatras, and most recently at a press conference on Thursday, Rahul asserted that a caste census was essential for social justice.
He said that policies of reservation, welfare, and inclusion cannot be based on outdated assumptions or arbitrary caps but must be grounded on facts.
The Congress also demands the urgent implementation of Article 15(5) of the Constitution, which enables the provision of reservations for OBCs, Dalits, and Adivasis in private educational institutions. This demand was clearly articulated in the Congress manifesto and reaffirmed by Rahul as a necessary and overdue step toward educational justice.
In an era when private institutions play an increasingly dominant role in higher education, the exclusion of marginalised communities from these spaces only worsens inequality. Article 15(5) is not just a constitutional provision, it is a social justice imperative. The Congress firmly believes that quality education must be made accessible to OBCs, EBCs, Dalits and Adivasis in both public and private institutions alike.
