‘Crores being left out of welfare schemes’: Mallikarjun Kharge urges Centre to begin work on population and caste census

“Without accurate and updated data, policies become arbitrary and ineffective,” Kharge said. Several crucial surveys and welfare programmes like the Consumer Survey, National Family Health Survey, Periodic Labour Force Survey, National Food Security Act, and National Social Assistance Programme rely on census data, he added.

“Because of this delay, crores of people are being left out of welfare schemes. Policymakers are making decisions without reliable and up-to-date data,” Kharge said.

The senior leader said that the census has been conducted every 10 years since 1881 and has continued despite wars, emergencies, and crises. The census exercise, he pointed out, involves the collection of not just population data but also information on employment, family structures, socio-economic conditions, and several other key aspects.

“Even during major events like World War II and the India-Pakistan war of 1971-72, the census was conducted. But for the first time in history, the government has delayed the census indefinitely,” he said.

Kharge also demanded a caste census and referred to the 1931 exercise in which a caste census was conducted with the population census. He asked that if the government already collects data on Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), why not include other castes as well.

“Right before the 1931 Census, Mahatma Gandhi ji had said that just like we need periodic medical checkups to assess our health, a census is the most important checkup for a nation,” he said.