OBC Groups Plan New Delhi Protest Over 2027 Census Caste Method

Protests Planned

The All India Caste Census Coordination Committee has called for a nationwide protest at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on November 28. The coalition of various OBC associations and civil society groups wants the Union government to change how it counts castes in the upcoming 2027 Census.

Census Demands

Leaders are demanding that the government add a drop-down menu in the Population Enumeration phase of the Census and give unique codes to all castes, including SC, ST, OBC, and General groups. The Centre previously decided to use an open column for caste entries for everyone except SCs and STs. Activists point out that this open-column method was used in the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census, which produced over 46 lakh caste names and was later discarded due to errors.

Leader Statements

Activists and political figures argue that a structured drop-down menu is necessary to collect accurate social, educational, and economic data for social justice and fair representation. Yogendra Yadav, national convener of the Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, stated that a caste census is essential to understand inequalities. G. Kiran Kumar, national president of the All India OBC Students Association, called for unique codes for all castes, a separate drop-down option for OBCs, and the removal of the 50 percent reservation ceiling. DMK Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson urged the government to prepare a standardised caste directory with unique codes for every OBC community. Former Telangana Minister and forum convener V. Srinivas Goud added that this method is vital for securing proper shares in education, jobs, and politics.

Context

Caste data collection in India remains a major policy topic because official numbers help shape reservation policies, welfare programs, and resource allocation. Debates over counting methods often center on how to balance open responses with standardized categories to avoid messy data errors.