Modi Govt’s Census push: What really happened to UPA’s SECC that Rahul Gandhi talks about?

For months leading up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s surprise announcement of including caste enumeration in the upcoming census, Rahul Gandhi had been talking about the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) exercise that the Congress-led UPA-2 government conducted when in power at the Centre.

Gandhi, the most vocal opposition face in demand for a Caste census, would often be heard saying that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been afraid of releasing SECC findings.

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On Wednesday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh referred to a letter written by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2023 demanding an “up-to-date Caste Census.” Taking to X on Wednesday, Ramesh posted the letter by the Congress President dated April 16, 2023, demanding the caste census.

The SECC enumeration was completed in 2012 and the date was ready by 2013. With elections scheduled in 2014, the government decided not to release the data.

“On 16 April 2023 — that is, over two years back — Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge had written this letter to the PM. Need anything more be said?” Ramesh said.

In the letter, Kharge stated that the then UPA Government following the 2011-2012 SECC, wasn’t able to release the data for various reasons; however, it called for the updated caste census, which was “very essential” for social justice and empowerment programmes, particularly for OBCs, after the NDA government came to power.

What is SECC?

At the beginning of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s second UPA term, Congress allies—the RJD, the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Janata Dal(United)—demanded a caste in the 2011 Census.

The then Home Ministry under P Chidambaram opposed the suggestion. The demand persisted. The Union Home Ministry toned down in its stand and suggested that a caste-based head count could be done. In September 2010, the decision to hold a caste headcount was taken.

What happened after UPA was out of power?

The enumeration was completed in 2012 and the data was ready by 2013. With elections scheduled next year, 2014, the government decided not to release the data. The UPA lost power in the May 2014 polls. Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in the BJP-led NDA government in 2014.

Also Read | Caste Census: What it means, why it matters?

In July 2015, the Modi government released provisional data from the SECC for rural India. It, however, held back the caste data, saying it had not been finalised. In 2018, the Home Ministry said the caste data had been handed over to the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner for processing.

In 2021, the Home Ministry said that the raw caste data was provided to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for classification and categorisation and that, as informed by the ministry, “there is no proposal to release the caste data at this stage.”

The UPA government had given a Presentation before the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Rural Development 13th February 2013 on SECC, 2011

In September 2021, the government, in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, effectively ruled out holding a caste census that year.

The UPA government presented SECC, 2011, before the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Rural Development on 13 February 2013. The Congress party shared the presentation with the media on Thursday. The SECC had the following elements as per the presentation: