25 August,2026 03:34 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. File Pic
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising concerns over the ongoing caste census process and urging the Centre to replace the current open-ended questionnaire with one based on a verified list of castes.
Kharge said the Congress leaders want the Centre to adopt the methodology used in the caste surveys conducted in Bihar and Telangana, where officials worked with pre-prepared caste lists. The party has argued that this approach would reduce the possibility of the same caste being recorded under different names or sub-castes and help produce more reliable data.
In a post on X, Kharge said the current process could result in inaccurate data because respondents may provide different names or descriptions for the same caste.
"Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and I have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji expressing serious concern over the current process of caste census. It is not possible to accurately count castes through open-ended questions. If the same caste is recorded under different names and sub-castes, the data will be scattered, and the biggest loss will be to OBCs, most backward, and deprived communities," Kharge wrote.
He said the questionnaire should be scrapped and replaced after consultation with political parties, experts and the public.
Kharge added, "Our demand is clear - the current questionnaire should be cancelled, a new questionnaire should be prepared based on a verified list of castes, and extensive consultation should be done with political parties, experts, and the public. Like the caste surveys in Telangana and Bihar, conducting the count based on a pre-prepared and verified caste list is a practical solution. The caste census should not only be done, it should also be done correctly."
The Congress has argued that accurate identification and classification of caste groups is particularly important for OBCs, most backward communities and other socially disadvantaged sections.
The party's demand comes as the Centre begins preparations for caste enumeration as part of the upcoming national census.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said the party wanted the Centre to use the methodology followed in Bihar and Telangana for the national exercise.
"The results of the caste survey in Bihar were published on October 2, 2023, and the results of the caste survey in Telangana were published on February 4, 2025. In this letter, Rahul ji and Kharge ji urge the Prime Minister to adopt the same methodology used in Bihar and Telangana for the upcoming national-level census--which has just commenced," Ramesh said at a press conference.
He said the Congress believes there is still sufficient time for the Centre to modify the process because the caste enumeration has so far begun only in certain parts of the country.
Ramesh said the caste census had begun in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Uttarakhand, while the nationwide exercise is scheduled for February 2027.
"There is still time for the Prime Minister to make corrections, as the caste census has currently only begun in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and parts of Uttarakhand; the nationwide exercise is scheduled for February 2027. Kharge ji and Rahul ji are demanding that the Prime Minister scrap the current plan and instead implement the methodology used in Bihar and Telangana at the national level. They urge him to consult experts and convene an all-party meeting. There is still time to make improvements over the next few months. A constructive suggestion has been put forward by Rahul ji and Kharge ji, and we hope the Prime Minister will not ignore this letter. Our demand is that the 2027 national census be conducted using the same methodology employed in Bihar and Telangana," Ramesh said.
The Centre announced on April 30 last year that caste enumeration would be undertaken as part of the 2027 population census.
The government has said comprehensive caste enumeration will be carried out during the Population Enumeration phase. Until the 2011 Census, systematic enumeration covered Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), while a comprehensive caste count was not part of the regular census exercise.
The inclusion of caste enumeration in the upcoming census is expected to generate extensive discussion over methodology, classification and the use of the resulting data for policymaking.
The latest letter is not the first time the Congress has pressed the Centre to adopt the Telangana methodology.
In April, Ramesh shared an earlier letter from Kharge to Modi in which the Congress president had suggested that the Centre use the "Telangana Model" for the caste-based census.
Kharge had also raised broader political concerns in that letter and questioned the Prime Minister over his decision to announce caste enumeration.
"The Prime Minister owes the leadership of the Indian National Congress an apology for his accusation. More importantly, he owes the people of India an explanation of why he allowed his mind to be contaminated by 'urban naxal' thought when he announced a caste census on April 30, 2025," Kharge wrote.
