Amend Census Act to Legally Enable Caste Enumeration, Says Former Telangana BC Commission Chief
NEWS CHARIOT:-Former Chairman of the Telangana State Backward Classes (BC) Commission, Dr. Vakulabharanam Krishna Mohan Rao, has urged the Central Government to amend the Census Act, 1948 to explicitly include caste enumeration. Speaking at a private event in Karimnagar on Friday, Dr. Rao emphasized that while the Centre’s move toward caste enumeration is historic, it must be anchored in a solid legal foundation to withstand judicial scrutiny.
He warned that current efforts to include caste data under the existing Census Act could face constitutional challenges. “Executive orders cannot override statutory limitations,” he said, citing the landmark Delhi Laws Case (1951) where the Supreme Court ruled against implementing provisions not explicitly authorized by legislation.
Drawing attention to the flawed Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) of 2011, Dr. Rao pointed out that despite an expenditure of ₹4,893 crore, much of the data was rendered unusable due to inconsistencies in caste names and classification. He also highlighted that the Panagariya Committee, formed to review this data, was dissolved without submitting a final report, and the Union Government admitted in court that the SECC findings could not support policy-making.
“Backward Classes, unlike Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, do not enjoy statutory recognition in census operations. Without amending the law to include the word ‘caste,’ such enumeration lacks legal legitimacy,” he argued.
He also cited the Supreme Court’s Puttaswamy judgment (2017), which affirms the right to privacy, underscoring the need for clear legal safeguards before collecting sensitive caste data.
Dr. Rao pointed to global examples — including the U.S., Brazil, and South Africa — where race and ethnicity data are legally collected through censuses. He called on Parliament to act decisively rather than relying on executive mechanisms.
“Caste enumeration is not about politics. It is about achieving the social justice promised in our Constitution,” Dr. Rao said, quoting Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: “Social statistics should serve as a mirror reflecting social injustice.”
Key Recommendations are Amend the Census Act to include “caste” explicitly,Revise Section 8 to guide enumerators on accurate data collection,Add Section 8A to protect privacy and regulate data usage.
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