Why a caste census is crucial for Adi Dravidas in Tamil Nadu |
In the first phase questionnaire of the population census released in the third week of January 2026, details of castes other than Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) were not sought. The Congress, the Samajwadi Party, and other opposition parties have pointed this out and criticised the Union government. They have also raised doubts about whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will carry out a caste-based census as it has announced.
In India, no population census has been conducted since 2011. The census that was due in 2021 was postponed citing the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this justification was not genuine, because elections were conducted in several states during that period, and the 2024 Lok Sabha election was also held. COVID-19 was not an obstacle to any of these. Therefore, no one accepted the BJP government’s excuse for not conducting the census.
The real reason the BJP government deferred the census was the insistence by parties, including the Congress, that a caste-based census be conducted. Not only opposition parties, but even parties within the BJP-led alliance pressed for a caste census. In particular, this became a major political issue in Bihar.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP failed to secure an absolute majority. It formed the government with the support of the Janata Dal (United), led by Nitish Kumar in Bihar, and the Telugu Desam Party, led by Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh.Â
The Janata Dal (United) went into the Parliamentary........