-The Hindu Handbook sees prejudices and ignorance or deliberate misinformation campaign on the exercise The Registrar General of India (RGI) anticipates “organised movement” against the decennial Census exercise such as agitation for inclusion of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and court cases against the collection of data for the National Population Register (NPR). The concern is documented in the Census of India 2021 Handbook for Principal/District Census Officers and Charge Officers that has been...

-IndiaToday.in Small and marginal parties play a crucial role in political arena of Uttar Pradesh. Here is a look at their rise and impact on UP elections. The BJP had won the 2017 Assembly Election of Uttar Pradesh with the help of alliance of small and marginal parties such as Apna Dal and Suheldev Rajbhar Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP). These alliances had enabled the party to mobilise voters from the most backward...

-Hindustan Times The BJP, on the other hand, has always claimed that Mandal-based parties such as the SP have only helped their own causes (for instance, the Yadavs in both Bihar and UP) in the name of social emancipation after capturing power. The Uttar Pradesh elections seem to be resurrecting the past memories of Mandal versus Kamandal contest only at the level of polemics. After chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)...

-The Telegraph Minister says GOI has not enumerated caste-wise population, other than SCs and STs in Census since independence, not in line with statement made to SC The Centre has told Parliament that it “has not enumerated” caste-wise populations other than those of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes since Independence, contradicting a statement it made in the Supreme Court three months ago. In that court affidavit of September 21, the social justice...

-The Hindu Caste data will help us understand the contours of inequality and craft reasoned and inclusive policies The debate about whether the decennial Census should collect data on caste from individuals who fall into the administrative categories of ‘General’ and ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBCs) has been argued by public intellectuals, politicians, and government administrators for decades. As the Census currently only collects data on ‘Scheduled Castes’ (SCs) and ‘Scheduled Tribes’ (STs),...