The government has decided as a matter of policy not to enumerate caste-wise population other than SCs and STs in census.
Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021
Every Census in independent India from 1951 to 2011 has published data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but not on other castes. Before that, every Census until 1931 had data on caste.
However, in 1941, caste-based data was collected but not published.
In the absence of such a census, there is no proper estimate for the population of OBCs, various groups within the OBCs, and others.
The Mandal Commission estimated the OBC population at 52%, some other estimates have been based on National Sample Survey data.
Demand for a caste census usually come from among those belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) and other deprived sections, while sections from the upper castes oppose the idea.
