The All India Caste Census Coordination Committee announced a protest at New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on 28 November 2026. The demand is that the Union government change the way caste enumeration is carried out in the upcoming 2027 Census so that the data are comprehensive and reliable.
Key Developments
- Coalition of OBC associations and civil‑society groups demand a drop‑down menu for all castes (SC, ST, OBC, General) during the Population Enumeration phase.
- The Centre plans to use an open‑column format for all castes except SCs and STs, the same method used in the 2011 SECC, which produced over 46 lakh caste names and was later discarded.
- Activists including Yogendra Yadav and G. Kiran Kumar urged the government to assign unique codes and to remove the 50% reservation ceiling on reservations.
- Political leaders such as P. Wilson (DMK Rajya Sabha MP) and V. Srinivas Goud (former Telangana minister) called for a standardised caste directory with unique identifiers for every OBC community.
Important Facts
The proposed protest aims to pressure the Union government to:
- Introduce a structured drop‑down menu with unique codes for every caste.
- Replace the open‑column method that led to unreliable data in the 2011 SECC.
- Ensure that data on social, educational and economic indicators are robust enough for policy decisions on affirmative action.
Exam Relevance
Understanding the debate over caste data collection is vital for GS‑2 (Polity) and GS‑3 (Economy). Accurate caste statistics influence:
- Formulation of reservation policies and the legal ceiling on reservations.
- Allocation of resources for education, employment and welfare schemes targeting SC, ST and OBC groups.
- Assessment of social inequality trends, a key topic in ethics and governance.
Questions on census methodology, data reliability, and the impact of caste‑based statistics frequently appear in the prelims and mains.
Way Forward
Stakeholders should monitor the government’s response to the protest. If the Union adopts a drop‑down menu with unique codes, future census data will be more reliable for policy planning. Aspirants must be prepared to analyse both the technical aspects of census design and the political implications of caste enumeration in their answers.