Caste & census in India: Useful links

It looks like caste will now be included in the Census of 2011, after a gap of 90 years.  This page is to keep track of arguments for and against the inclusion of caste in the census, and it will be updated as and when I read interesting new articles.

1. Poverty, caste and religion to be simultaneously mapped
   Bookmarked on 19.05.2011:

   Ambika Soni announces that caste census will be done along with a census on BPL families.

2. 500 Internal Server Error
   Bookmarked on 27.03.2011:

   500 Internal Server Error

3. My caste is Indian – Amitabh Bachchan
   Bookmarked on 27.05.2010:

   Big B declares that he will tell the census official that his caste is "Indian" since he does not believe in caste.

4. From millions to fractions by Ambedkar
   Bookmarked on 27.05.2010:

   Ambedkar writes on the question of counting the number of Untouchables in the censuses between 1901-31. The article written from the perspective of one who wished to be counted makes an interesting reading in today's context.

5. Who is afraid of caste census and why?
   Bookmarked on 27.05.2010:

   SR Darapuri recalls Hutton to argue that ignoring the existence of caste like an ostrich is not the way to end caste.

6. Why caste should be counted in – Hindu Op-Ed
   Bookmarked on 22.05.2010:

   Yogendra Yadav argues that including caste in the census is valuable for policy making since affirmative action is an important aspect of policymaking in India.

7. Britain and the Indian Caste System
   Bookmarked on 22.05.2010:

   Provides a background to the caste census during the British era. Kevin Hobson recalls some of the confusions that went into the exercise of categorizing castes based on now discredited ideas of racial hierarchy provided by phrenology and anthropology. Individuals were assumed to embody caste characteristics, and this influenced what jobs people of a caste were eligible to do, and this influenced reactions by Indian caste groups that tried to enlist as a higher caste to create opportunities within the British regime. Census thus raised caste consciousness and it also provided a rationalization for colonial rule in India.

8. Will caste-census divide India? Sify message board
   Bookmarked on 22.05.2010:

   This is not a great source of information on the caste census, but the debates are an interesting read, sociologically speaking.

9. Census of castes, a hope for Dalit Christians – Asia News
   Bookmarked on 22.05.2010:

   Counting castes can throw light on the situation of Dalit Christians, and this exercise has received support from many churches.

10. And now they want a caste census in India Today
    Bookmarked on 22.05.2010:

    The Constitution does not mandate reservation, and quotas are only one among many policy options to address inequalities, argues Dipankar Gupta. Also argues that counting castes serves no useful policy purpose.

11. Caste and the Census
    Bookmarked on 22.05.2010:

    Argues that while information about disadvantaged groups is useful for policymaking, this process has moral, technical and pragmatic difficulties. The article also reviews arguments from "Caste enumeration in Census" seminar.

12. Dishonesty in Caste Census
    Bookmarked on 22.05.2010:

    Surjib Bhalla claims upper caste Hindus will claim to be OBCs and so that caste census will be inaccurate, and there is evidence of this in the NSS estimate of OBC population.