Caste census row: Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi demand separate OBC column in questionnaire

The two leaders have specifically objected to the absence of a separate OBC column in the caste census questionnaire, arguing that the current system could fail to accurately capture the size of India's Other Backward Classes population.

Sharing the letter on social media, Kharge said a caste census must not merely be conducted but must be carried out correctly.

Congress flags open-ended caste entry

Kharge and Gandhi alleged that the government's proposed method of recording caste details could create significant inconsistencies.

Under the current format, individuals belonging to communities other than the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes would provide their caste names in an open-ended field.

The Congress leaders argued that the same caste can be known by different names, sub-castes and regional or linguistic variations across India. They warned that recording these names separately could fragment members of the same caste into multiple entries.

"This would result in a list of hundreds of thousands of caste names, rendering the entire dataset obtained from the caste census useless," they said in the letter.

Demand for new questionnaire

The Congress leaders have demanded that the Centre withdraw the existing caste census questionnaire and prepare a new one after consultations with political parties, experts and the public.

They proposed a standardised "drop-down" list of castes to ensure that different names for the same community can be accurately consolidated.

According to Gandhi and Kharge, such a list could be prepared using existing government classifications, including lists of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, along with data available from the Anthropological Survey of India.

They also referred to caste surveys conducted in Telangana and Bihar, saying similar methodologies had been used there.

Congress calls process ‘deception’

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, while releasing the letter at a press conference, alleged that the Centre was not genuinely committed to conducting a caste census.

He described the current process as a "deception" and accused the government of attempting to put the exercise on the back burner.

The Centre had released a 40-question list for the 2027 Census around two weeks ago. The caste-related question includes a drop-down format for SC and ST categories, while an open-ended format is proposed for other castes.

The Congress is demanding that a similar drop-down mechanism be introduced for the OBC category.

Rahul Gandhi's recent OBC remark

The latest demand comes days after Rahul Gandhi addressed an event organised by the Congress' OBC department.

At the event, Gandhi said that if members of the OBC community mobilised in large numbers, similar to "Gen Z students", the government would be forced to respond to their demands.

The dispute over the questionnaire is now adding a fresh political dimension to the debate over how caste data should be collected and classified in the 2027 Census.