When is the last census of the Census- what is the position of the opposition parties, including the Congress? – When the last caste census is visible

The Union Cabinet, which made an important decision on Tuesday, has decided to include caste -based calculations in the upcoming census. Union Minister Aswini Vaishnav, who provided information on the decisions of the Cabinet, said, “The Cabinet Committee for Political Affairs has decided to include the caste census in the upcoming census.” This announcement can give a new twist for the debate over the decades of the caste census in the country.

History of caste census
The last caste census in India was last during the British colonial rule in 1931. At that time, a total of 4,147 castes were calculated in the country, while the other backward class (OBC) population was 52 percent. Caste -based statistics were collected in 1941, but they were never published. Since 1951, only the planned castes (SC) and the planned tribal (ST) population figures have been collected and released.

Social-economic and caste-based statistics (socio-economic and actress census, SECC) were collected in 2011, but these figures were not publicized. Many experts believe that there are errors in these figures, and the government has not taken any firm measures to finalize them. Therefore, since 1931, no reliable and comprehensive caste -based figures have been received in the country.

2010-2011: Caste Census Requests
During the second term of the UPA government in 2010, parties such as the Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal (United) raised the demand for caste -based calculations in the 2011 census. This request came from the parties of the Hindi belt, and its main votes were the OBC community. This demand made the UPA government an uncomfortable state because both the Congress and the then main opposition BJP had no clear position on the issue.

The Home Ministry argued that the additives of caste -based questions during the census could make false conclusions due to logistic issues, but the Hindi Belt parties intensified their demand and began to oppose the women’s reservation bill. In this way, in May 2010, the UPA government handed over the issue to the Pranab Mukherjee -led committee (GOM). In September 2010, the Com decided to organize the caste survey.

However, the SECC survey, which began in 2011, saw several errors. This calculation was completed by the end of 2012, but the final figures could not be made by 2013. The initial figures of the SECC were released for rural India in 2015-16, but caste-based data were not finalized. The government talked about the formation of a panel of experts headed by the Vice President of Niti Aayog, and it could never be created.

In 2010-11, the BJP supported the caste survey. In the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj clarified the party’s position and said that the BJP has joined the issue. The BJP has fielded its OBC leaders Gopinath Munde and Hukumdev Narayan Yadav to advance this demand. At the time, the BJP also accused the Congress of stopping the caste census.

However, when the BJP came to power, its attitude changed. In 2018, the then Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that OBC data would be collected in the 2021 census. But in 2021, the census was postponed due to the Govid -19 infection. Later, the central government made it clear that only the SC and SD data would be collected in the census.

What did the Home Minister say
In November 2023, Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP had never opposed the caste census, but any decision on the issue would be “after being carefully considered”. At the same time, in 2021, central state minister Nithyanand Roy said that calculating the SC and SD in Parliament was the government’s policy.

In recent years, its main agenda includes the caste census. Party leader Mallikarjun Cork wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding an immediate caste census. It was clearly stated that the Congress’s 2024 Lok Sabha election manifesto (judicial letter) would organize a nationwide socio-economic and caste census.

Rahul Gandhi has raised the issue on several occasions. In 2024 and 2025, he said that the caste census would reveal the true status of Dalits, tribes, OBCs and minorities in various forums. In Patna in February 2025, he said, “Dalits and low levels of the country’s current power structure will be revealed.

The status of caste survey in states
Some states have begun the caste survey independently:
Bihar: India coalition government has completed the caste survey.

Telangana: The Congress government completed the caste survey. Rahul Gandhi said in February 2025 that 90 per cent of Telangana’s population was Dalit, Adivasi, OBC or minority.

Karnataka: The Congress government and the caste census completed.

Some BJP leaders called the caste survey as a conspiracy to divide the Hindu society. On October 9, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The policy of the Congress is to fight one caste of Hindus against another.” Karnataka BJP President Vijendra said the caste census was an attempt to divide the Hindus on April 15, April 15.

The story of other parties
Samajwadi Party (SP): Akhilesh Yadav demanded the caste census before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP): Mayawati sought a nationwide caste census from this center.

TMK: In Tamil Nadu, the caste census will strengthen the reservation, the TMK said.

Janata Doll (United): Nitish Kumar supported the caste census.

Aam Aadmi Party: Sanjay Singh supported the Congress request.

YSR Congress: The party demanded a national -based economic census.

Biju Janata Dal: In Odisha, the BJP demanded the abolition of the caste census and the 50 percent reservation limit.