OBC groups seek mandatory caste coding in Census, warn against ‘unscientific’ enumeration
OBC community organisations, at a national conference, demanded that caste enumeration in the upcoming Census be postponed until a standardised coding system for OBC castes is finalised.
The demand includes unique codes for every recognised caste name, its synonyms, alternative names and regional variations, along with separate Census columns for OBCs and the General Category, and provisions for verifying entries and including omitted communities.
Participants warned that the currently planned "open column" method — recording self-declared caste as stated, without a pre-coded list (codes currently apply only to SC/ST entries) — could produce inconsistent, unusable data.
Organisers cited the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) as a cautionary precedent, and indicated plans for further representations, including a protest, over the proposed enumeration methodology.
Census 2027 and the Decision to Enumerate Caste
The upcoming decennial Census (delayed from its original 2021 schedule) will, for the first time in independent India, include caste enumeration for all categories — a decision approved by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. It will be conducted in two phases: reference date 1 October 2026 for snow-bound/Union Territory areas like Ladakh, and 1 March 2027 for the rest of the country.
Key Details
- The last full caste enumeration in an Indian census was in 1931 (British India); post-Independence censuses (1951 onward) counted SCs and STs but not other castes, following a policy decision at the time.
- The Census is conducted under the Census Act, 1948, which empowers the Central Government to conduct the Census and makes participation and accurate disclosure a statutory obligation; census data is confidential under Section 15 of the Act and cannot be used as evidence in any proceeding.
- Census falls under Entry 69 of the Union List (Seventh Schedule), making it exclusively a Central subject.
- The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (under the Ministry of Home Affairs) is the nodal authority for conducting and processing Census data.
The OBC groups' demand directly concerns the enumeration methodology being finalised for this Census — specifically, whether OBC castes will be recorded through a coded/standardised list (as SC/ST castes already are) or through open self-declaration.
SECC 2011 — Precedent and Data Quality Concerns
The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 was a separate exercise (distinct from the decennial Population Census) conducted to identify households for welfare targeting, which collected caste data using an open-ended, non-coded format; the caste component data was never officially released due to widely acknowledged classification errors.
Key Details
- SECC 2011 recorded castes based on self-declaration without a standardised master list, resulting in a reported count of roughly 46 lakh distinct caste/sub-caste entries — a figure widely cited as evidence of the risk of open-column caste recording.
- Errors arose from inconsistent spellings, use of surnames instead of caste names, synonyms, and lack of enumerator training on caste nomenclature.
- SECC 2011's economic/deprivation data (for identifying poor households) was released and used for scheme targeting (e.g., Ayushman Bharat eligibility), but its caste data component was set aside and an Expert Group was constituted to examine it, without a public resolution.
OBC organisations are invoking SECC 2011 as the precedent to avoid — arguing that repeating an open-column, non-coded approach for OBC caste in Census 2027 risks producing similarly unusable data, undermining the exercise's stated purpose of informing policy (including reservation-related decisions).
Article 340, the Mandal Commission, and the Constitutional Basis for OBC Classification
Article 340 of the Constitution empowers the President to appoint a commission to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes and recommend steps for their advancement — the constitutional basis for both the Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1953) and the Mandal Commission (B.P. Mandal, 1979).
Key Details
- The Mandal Commission's 1980 report recommended 27% reservation for OBCs in central government jobs; this was implemented in 1990 and upheld (with a 50% overall reservation ceiling) by the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992).
- The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) was given constitutional status via the 102nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2018, inserting Article 338B, empowering it to examine complaints and advise on inclusion/exclusion of communities in the Central OBC list.
- The 105th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2021 restored states' power to maintain their own OBC lists (State List) after a Supreme Court ruling had held that only the Centre could do so post the 102nd Amendment.
- Unlike SC/ST lists (which are notified under Articles 341/342 with Presidential/Parliamentary authority and fixed codes), the OBC category is comparatively fluid, with separate Central and State lists — a key reason coding is administratively harder.
The absence of a single, fixed, code-based national OBC list (unlike SC/ST) is precisely why OBC organisations fear an open-column Census approach will fragment data across thousands of caste-name variants, diluting the population figures that could otherwise inform Article 340-linked policy decisions on OBC reservation.
- Last full caste-based Census in India: 1931 (British India).
- SECC 2011 recorded caste data was never officially released; open-column format reportedly yielded around 46 lakh distinct caste entries.
- Census 2027 reference dates: 1 October 2026 (Ladakh/snow-bound areas), 1 March 2027 (rest of India).
- Mandal Commission (1979 report, 1980 recommendations): 27% OBC reservation, implemented 1990.
- Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992): upheld OBC reservation, capped total reservation at 50%.
- NCBC given constitutional status via 102nd Amendment Act, 2018 (Article 338B); States' OBC list powers restored via 105th Amendment Act, 2021.
- Census conducted under the Census Act, 1948; subject falls under Entry 69, Union List.