Stalin Urges TN Assembly Resolution on Caste Drop-Down List for Census 2027
DMK president M K Stalin on Sunday in Chennai called upon the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly to pass a special resolution demanding a standardised, pre-determined drop-down list for caste enumeration in the upcoming Census 2027. He expressed disappointment over the Union government's proposed open-ended format for recording caste details, urging the state to adopt the resolution in the ongoing session to convey the public's sentiments to the Centre.
In a statement, Stalin contended that permitting enumerators to manually enter caste names without a pre-set list would lead to severe discrepancies and undermine the core purpose of a caste-based census. He rejected the Union government's reasoning that the Other Backward Classes list comprises classes rather than individual castes, calling the explanation completely unacceptable.
Stalin urged the central government to consult state administrations and incorporate their official lists of Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes into the census enumeration system. He noted that providing citizens with the option to select from an established list is the only method to secure accurate data collection during the national survey.
Warning against open-ended entries, Stalin claimed that an unstructured format risks generating chaotic results, including falsely indicating the existence of 46 lakh distinct castes across India. He stressed that the primary objective of a caste census is to determine the exact population alongside the socio-economic and educational status of OBC communities, comparable to data collected for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
According to Stalin, reliable data is essential so that governments can frame effective reservation policies and targeted development schemes. He cautioned that proceeding with the current flawed methodology would waste nearly Rs 12,000 crore of public funds and the extensive labour of lakhs of government employees, turning the nationwide exercise into a mere eye-wash.
Emphasising the need to protect the social justice rights of millions of backward and most backward citizens, Stalin demanded that the central government take immediate corrective measures to ensure an error-free enumeration process.
