Recently, the Central government has approved the inclusion of caste enumeration in the upcoming census, consider the following statements with respect to it:
1. Before independence more than five caste censuses were conducted.
2. The last caste census enumerated more than four thousand castes.
3. The current OBC reservation is based on 1931 caste census data.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct ?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Question

Recently, the Central government has approved the inclusion of caste enumeration in the upcoming census, consider the following statements with respect to it:
1. Before independence more than five caste censuses were conducted.
2. The last caste census enumerated more than four thousand castes.
3. The current OBC reservation is based on 1931 caste census data.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct ?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

ONLiNE UPSC · Accepted Answer

The first attempt at a general census for the whole of India was made in 1871&ndash;72, though it was conducted non-synchronously in different regions. From 1881 onwards, the British administration conducted regular decennial censuses that included caste enumeration.
Statement 1 is correct: Caste enumeration was part of the decennial census from 1881 to 1931 i.e., six times before independence (1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, and 1931).

Statement 2 is correct: The 1931 census is noted for its detailed classification of castes and sub-castes, cataloguing thousands of castes across India. It enumerated 4147 castes throughout India.

Statement 3 is correct: The Mandal Commission, which proposed the current 27% reservation for OBCs, based its recommendations on data from the 1931 census, the last comprehensive caste enumeration available at the time.

Indian Census

Caste Enumeration in Census

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M Question 1	⏱ 0
Recently, the Central government has approved the inclusion of caste enumeration in the upcoming census, consider the following statements with respect to it: 1. Before independence more than five caste censuses were conducted. 2. The last caste census enumerated more than four thousand castes. 3. The current OBC reservation is based on 1931 caste census data. Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct ? (a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Indian Census

Caste Enumeration in Census

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