BC groups seek unique codes for OBC castes in census

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Several Backward Class (BC) organisations have urged the Central Government to assign a unique identification code to every OBC caste in the ongoing national Census, alleging that the existing system could once again lead to the undercounting or misclassification of BC communities.

The demand was raised at a meeting on “Caste Census – BCs Being Misrepresented Again”, jointly organised by the BC Intellectual Forum and the BC Political Front at the Basheerbagh Press Club. During the event, the organisations released an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking at the meeting, retired IAS officer and BC Intellectual Forum Chairman T. Chiranjeevulu said the first phase of the Census, the house-listing operation, has already been completed and the second phase is under way. He expressed concern that while Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) have pre-assigned unique codes for recording their details, OBC communities are still being recorded through an open-ended system, which could result in inconsistencies in caste-wise data.

The leaders demanded that the Centre allot a unique identification code to every caste across the country and conduct the caste census based on those codes to ensure accurate enumeration. They also called on the Prime Minister to hold consultations with BC organisations, public representatives and experts before finalising the caste enumeration process.

Former DGP Poornachandra Rao and BC Political Front Chairman Balagoni Balaraju Goud alleged that BC communities have faced repeated injustice in previous census exercises and urged the Centre to ensure transparency and fairness in the ongoing process. State BC Political Front Convener Ayili Venkanna Goud and several BC leaders also participated in the meeting.