Mayawati Revives Demand for Caste Census, Slams Government Inaction

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati has once again reiterated her demand for a nationwide caste-based census, calling it a long-overdue step crucial for inclusive development and social justice. Speaking at a press conference, she accused successive governments including the Congress in the past and the BJP in the present of deliberately delaying or ignoring the implementation of a caste census due to political hesitations and fear of social realignment.

Mayawati emphasized that while economic development is important, social justice cannot be achieved without recognizing the actual population size and needs of backward castes, Dalits, OBCs, and other marginalized groups. According to her, the absence of updated caste data hampers proper welfare planning and allocation of government resources.

She also underlined that the British-era caste census of 1931 remains the last comprehensive dataset, which is now outdated. Since then, India’s demographic landscape has changed drastically, with changing socio-economic conditions and migration patterns. The absence of updated caste data has made policy-making inefficient, as it does not reflect ground realities.