‘Scrap misleading questionnaire’: Kharge, Rahul Gandhi write to PM Modi on caste census

Former Opposition leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have penned a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the scrapping of the current caste census questionnaire. They proposed a new approach, backed by consultations with political entities, specialists, and the general populace. The letter, penned in Hindi on August 20, criticized the open-ended question format, asserting that it allows individuals to self-identify their caste, which could lead to a fragmented list of caste names.

This, they argued, would render the census data obsolete and hinder accurate social justice policies. The leaders recommended introducing a pre-populated drop-down list akin to the methods used for enumerating Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). This approach, they noted, was successfully applied in caste surveys of Telangana and Bihar.

They emphasized that without precise population data, any social assessment would be flawed, especially for marginalized communities. Kharge and Gandhi suggested the government discontinue the current questionnaire and create a new one after comprehensive consultations, ensuring the caste census is accurate, meaningful, and beneficial.