Boxes in India: Why is it recorded in the next census?

Boxes in India: Why is it recorded in the next census?

For millions of people in India, a rigid caste system that has existed for thousands of years still shapes many aspects of daily life - from social circles to partnership elections to job opportunities and education. The Indian government has long insisted that hierarchical social structures in the most populous nation in the world have no place, and in 1950 prohibited the chest end crimination. The announcement of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came all the more surprising that the caste should be recorded for the first time since 1931 in the upcoming national census - when India was still a British colony.

a historical step

The recording of the caste will "ensure that our social cohesion is not under political pressure", the government in April . "This will help to ensure that society becomes economically and socially stronger and that the country's progress continues unhindered." However, the message contained no details about how the cast dates should be collected or even when the census takes place, which has been postponed again and again since its original date in 2021.

box and social inequality

The announcement has re -lived up to a long -standing debate about the question of whether the recording of boxes will support disadvantaged groups or further solidify the divisions in society. Poonam Muttreja, Managing Director of the Population Foundation of India, said that a box census "forces the state to deal with structural inequalities that are often politically and socially uncomfortable". Due to the lack of cast dates in the past century, we felt "practical blind", Mutreja continued, "we shape political measures in the dark and at the same time claim to pursue social justice. The next census will therefore be a historical census."

What is Kaste?

The Indian box system has its roots in the Hindu writings and has divided the population into a hierarchy in the course of history that defines people's professions, their place of residence and the marriages on the basis of the family in which they were born. Today, many non-Hindus in India, including Muslims, Christians, Jains and Buddhists, also identify with certain boxes. There are several main boxes and thousands of sub -box - by the Brahminen at the top, which were traditionally priests or scholars, up to the dalits, formerly referred to as "untouchable", which were forced to work as cleaning staff and garbage collectors.

permanent inequalities

For centuries, the boxes on the lowest level - the dalits and marginalized indigenous Indians - were viewed as "impure". In some cases, they were even excluded from entering the houses or temples of the higher boxes and had to eat and drink in common rooms from separate dishes. India tried to venture a fresh start after his independence from Great Britain in 1947 and introduced a number of changes in his new constitution. Specific categorizations of boxes were introduced to set quotas for affirmative measures and other advantages - ultimately 50 % of the positions in the government and at educational institutions were reserved for disadvantaged boxes. In addition, the concept of "untirability" was abolished and the casting discrimination was prohibited.

The census between hope and skepticism

The decision to no longer count the caste in census was part of this mission. "After independence, the Indian state deliberately avoided counting the caste in the census," said Muttreja. "It was thought that the caste should not be highlighted and that it would equalize herself in a democracy." But that didn't happen. Although the hard limits of the box separation have been weakened over time, especially in urban areas, there are still significant differences in relation to prosperity, health and educational success between the various boxes. The most disadvantaged boxes today have higher illiterate and malnutrition rates and receive fewer social services such as maternity and reproductive health care.

political scope and voter behavior

The persistent discrepancies have fueled the demands for a box census, whereby many argue that data could be used to ensure greater state support and redistribute the resources in need. In some states - such as Bihar, one of the poorest states of India - local authorities have carried out their own surveys, which made demands on Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) loud to follow this example. Now it seems like they are doing this.

a political maneuver?

modes have long opposed experiments to define the population according to traditional box lines and explains that the four "largest boxes" are the poor, young people, women and farmers - and that their promotion of the development of the whole country would benefit. However, growing dissatisfaction among the disadvantaged box has strengthened the opposition parties in the course of the upcoming national elections in 2024. These elections brought a surprising result: Although Modi won a third term, the BJP was not able to win a majority in parliament, which reduced its power. The opponents see his turn to the box Zensus as a political maneuver to gain support in upcoming state elections, especially in Bihar - a competitive state in which this topic is particularly sensitive.

controversy and challenges

Not everyone supports the box census. Opponents argue that the nation should try to move away from these names instead of formalizing them. Some believe that government policies such as the affirmative action should be based on other criteria, such as the socio -economic layer. Muttreja and Desai believe that a box census is overdue. You are convinced that the recording of this data will force the government to act and that it can no longer be ignored that the chest end discrimination continues to exist. "Data collection can design state funding, e.g. for school and allocations of funds in the healthcare system," said Muttreja. "It helps to ensure that quotas reflect the actual disadvantages, not just historical precedents."

If the new census data is available, the government can optimize the distribution of resources and deal precisely to the current needs of society. The discussion about the box census shows that topics such as social justice and equal opportunities in India are still of great relevance.