The Caste Con Census

It is the C word that counts.

It has been almost a hundred years since the last nation-wide caste count. The 1931 Census, a British exercise, accounted for 4,147 castes. The Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011 returned over 46 lakh caste names. Castes are countless. Caste, by definition, divides. And in the modern period, castes have only multiplied.

Many advocates of social justice believe that counting castes will help redress inequalities. Is this true? What will a more detailed headcount reveal? How will the data be used? In an age when the state often fudges truth and numbers, what are the consequences? Will there be a quota for everyone? Can annihilation of caste ever be a reality?

Anand Teltumbde wades through the history, maths and dynamics of this debate, and lays bare all that is at stake.

Anand Teltumbde is one of India’s most outspoken public intellectuals. He has authored over twenty books in English and Marathi; among them are Republic of Caste: Thinking Equality in the Time of Neoliberal Hindutva and The Iconoclast: A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. He lives in Mumbai.

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In the media

‘The caste census can be just another means of keeping the caste system going’—An excerpt published in The Hindu

‘If equality is the aim, a caste census can never deliver it’—An excerpt published in The Print

‘Where is my data?’—An excerpt published in Marathi in Loksatta

‘BJP is no longer denying caste; it is managing it politically’—An interview with Anand Teltumbde in Frontline

‘Uproar Over Reservations, Caste Enumeration Serves To Humiliate Dalits, Not Uplift Them’—Anand Teltumbde speaks to Article 14

‘An unusual book that com­bines schol­ar­ship with pop­u­lar polit­ical rhet­oric. A mere glance reveals the wide range of top­ics the author has attemp­ted to deal with’—Mint Lounge

‘A provocative new book that warns about the hardening of a deeply discriminatory caste system’—BBC

‘Accessible and lucid. A measured and scholarly contribution to the debate surrounding the caste census’—Scroll

‘A product of serious scholarship and reflection that opens up fruitful discussion’—Indian Express

‘The people are naked before the government but the government is opaque to them’—An interview in The Caravan

‘Annihilation of caste made impossible’—An excerpt published in The Economic Times

‘Caste census is meant to distract us’—A report on the book in Midday

‘A caste census cannot achieve social justice’—An interview with Anand Teltumbde in Hindustan Times

‘Teltumbde barred from attending Hortus, makes his voice heard online’—After being denied permission by courts to attend the Manorama Hortus Festival in Kerala, Teltumbde took to the stage via Zoom. Read this report on Manorama Online about the event.

An interview with The Print’s Rama Lakshmi on the nature of caste and its political exploitation:

An interview with Anand Teltumde on the Frontline YouTube Channel:

An interview on The Hindu’s Pulse Maharashtra:

An interview on Prof Ratan Lal’s YouTube channel Ambedkarnama:

An interview on the Deccan Herald YouTube channel