India, May 12 -- In the run-up to the 2024 elections, Rahul Gandhi, in particular, talked of the need for a caste census, which was supported by many opposition leaders. Congress-ruled states and NDA-ruled Bihar also carried out the census. This caste census issue was one of the major planks of the opposition's slight revival from being in the dumps in that election.

Modi opposed the caste census tooth and nail, stating that this is part of Urban Naxal thinking. Its parent organisation, RSS, said that it is a ploy to divide Hindu society. In this background, on April 30, 2025, the Modi Cabinet decided to include castes as a part of the forthcoming census. As such, the census, which was due in 2021, has been pushed forward so far. There a...