Jagdeep Chhokar | Let there be no room for confusion or cynicism

The Narendra Modi government must offer more details about the proposed caste census and share updates about anti-terror operations — this will put to rest misleading and malicious rumours

April 30, 2025, will remain etched in India’s memory as a special day. Since morning, there was palpable excitement about a really big announcement from the government. The reason? Three meetings at the very highest political-executive level were to take place. First was the CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security), to be followed by the CCPA (Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs), and a meeting of the Union Cabinet.

Expectations and excitement were at peak levels because little over a week had passed since the horrendous terror attack in Pahalgam, on April 22.

Following the three meetings, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, briefed the media at the National Media Centre, New Delhi.

Vaishnaw started with the Cabinet’s decision to construct an important highway in the North-East. This was followed by an announcement about farmers. Questions were invited on these two ‘topics only’.

That done, he announced that the Cabinet had decided that the caste census would be done with the next national census. The rest, as is said, is history.

The demand for a caste census has been around for a very long time. The last publicly available data is from 1931. The 1941 census collected caste data, but it was not released, possibly because of World War I. Caste data has not been collected since then.

The April 30 announcement of the caste census, when everyone expected a Pahalgam-related announcement, is baffling, to say the least. It has, therefore, attracted a lot of speculation, some of which can be dismissed as bizarre or politically motivated.

The caste census has indeed become a hot-button election issue over the last couple of years, with some opposition political parties campaigning for it and the ruling party opposing it. The question, however, is whether it was so urgent that it had to be announced while the nation is trying to figure out myriad issues arising from the Pahalgam tragedy.

A lot of questions surrounding the terror attack need answers. Yes, the assailants were terrorists, but how did they get to where they did undetected? That too, in a region which has had heavy deployment of security forces for years.

The measures announced so far include some which have already been responded to with reciprocal actions. The major one, about the Indus Water Treaty, is not implementable in the short term. The intensely explosive rhetoric by sections of the media on both sides of the border, and the fact that both participants hold nuclear capability, make the situation even more complex.

The April 30 announcement is also bizarre in that it does not provide any details about the proposed caste census. It would have been funny if it were not so disturbing. Where does the announcement take us? We’ll have to wait till the next national census, which we have been waiting for since 2021.

The next national census seems to have become the ever-elusive mirage, or a process we’re all endlessly waiting for, like Samuel Beckett’s Godot. Equally, if not much more, momentous actions are waiting for the census to appear; two of which are delimitation and the women’s reservation in the legislature. In September 2023, the latter was announced with much fanfare, in a ‘historic’ midnight session of Parliament — but, what seemed to have escaped everyone’s attention is that it was an undated cheque yet to be encashed. Delimitation, supposedly a decadal exercise, has not been done at the national level since 1976. This had also become a ‘hot’ political issue a few months ago when the Union government blocked educational funds to Tamil Nadu for not following the three-language formula; the issue has taken a political turn.

The government’s caste census announcement does not mean anything in practical terms, particularly in terms of giving a time frame for conducting the exercise. The lack of a timeframe could also mean that this will be yet another promise by the current dispensation, where its date of fulfilment is not in the foreseeable future.

While this is being discussed, we should not forget to ask the government important questions about the Pahalgam terror attack. Some are: How come there was no information with the security and intelligence agencies about an area which is under intense security watch? Why were the terrorists not apprehended before the attack, and why haven’t our agencies not yet nabbed them? Admittedly, and understandably, details about India’s operations should not be revealed, but a complete blackout of information is also not desirable, because it results in speculation, which often can be motivated and sometimes even malicious.

Another widespread speculation is about the timing of the caste census announcement. The timing of the announcement, especially the lack of details, has led many to assume that it was made at this juncture to divert attention from the Pahalgam tragedy. If true, it is reprehensible. 

Therefore, an update on the Pahalgam operations will put to rest rumours and instil confidence in the people, and more details about the proposed caste census will give clarity to a burning demand, which will be an incremental step towards social justice.

(Jagdeep S Chhokar is former Professor, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and founder-member of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). X: @JagdeepChhokar.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.