No concensus? Why counting castes in India is a minefield

Dalit rights activist Suraj Yengde was once asked in an interview if after all his scholarship and travels overseas, did his

caste

still matter. “It follows me,” he said, “like a shadow.”
The government plans to kick off the

Census

along with caste enumeration from April 1, 2026, a task almost as hard as counting shadows. The decision has been controversial with some reviving the Dalit leader and BSP founder Kanshi Ram’s slogan ‘

jiski jitni sankhya bhari, uski utni hissedari

’ (greater the number, greater the share) with the hope that the exercise will finally bring the issue of social justice front and centre in Indian politics.