Can't have social justice without data: Former minister on caste census

Speaking at the India Today Conclave South, former Union Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said a caste census was essential to ensure social justice, pointing out that India continues to depend on outdated caste data that is nearly a century old.

"You can't have social justice without data. Today the data we rely on is 90 years old," he said. Citing the Rohini Commission's findings from 2017, Ramadoss noted that of the 2,633 communities within the OBC category, just 10 communities cornered 24.94% of the jobs, 38 communities took another 25%, 102 communities secured 25%, and 506 communities accounted for 22.5%.

In contrast, 656 communities together made up 97.5% of all OBC jobs, leaving 1,977 communities to compete for only 2.5% of opportunities. "There are 983 communities that don't have a single job or access to education," he stressed.

While underlining the need for a national caste count, Ramadoss argued that state-level surveys were even more critical since every state had its own socio-economic realities. Referring to Bihar's caste survey, he said it revealed that 94 lakh households earned less than Rs 6,000 a month and 67 lakh families did not own a house.