“Why the right must own the narrative around Caste Census, not run from it”, Swarajyamag, May 2, 2025:
“The Government of Bharat announced on 30 April that the upcoming population census will include comprehensive caste data as well. This marks the first time in nearly a century that such detailed caste enumeration will be conducted, as the last full caste census was held in 1931 under the British rule. The decision comes after years of political debate and pressure from various quarters, including opposition parties and state governments, who have conducted their own caste surveys in recent years.
However, the decision has also sparked a renewed debate about the role of caste in Bharatiya society and politics. A caste census is not an act of rupture — it is an act of recognition. And yet, in much of Bharat’s right-of-centre discourse, it has been framed as a tool of division, one that signals the end of Hindu unity, encourages identity politics, and hands ammunition to the Left.
The real challenge isn’t whether caste exists. It does — in matrimonial ads, in access to education, in social hierarchies, and in bureaucratic representation. The real challenge is who gets to define and deploy it. Until now, the caste question has been ceded entirely to the ‘secular’ Left, which uses it as a perpetual indictment of Hindu society…..”
Read the full article at Swarajyamag.com
