# Ramadoss warns open-ended caste census will cause confusion 2026-08-16T10:27:44+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 4 independent outlets PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss has urged all MPs to press the government to use pre-loaded official caste lists in the upcoming census instead of open text fields. In a letter to lawmakers, the former Union minister warned that allowing citizens to self-report caste names would generate millions of sub-caste entries, making the data unusable for social justice policies. He cited the Bihar 2023 and Telangana 2024 surveys as successful examples of the drop-down method. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged the Census 2027 questionnaire is deliberately flawed, noting that micro questions on religion, date of birth, and parents' birthplace have never been asked before. He accused the government of a nefarious purpose, pointing out that the Centre in a 2021 Supreme Court affidavit had itself recommended a drop-down menu, which the current census omits. Telangana Today reported that the open-ended format risks repeating the 2011 SECC failure, which produced 46.7 lakh distinct caste names. Retired Justice V. Eswaraiah told Rediff that merely adding a caste question does not constitute a caste census, as the exercise lacks verification mechanisms and fails to cross-reference central and state OBC lists. He argued the government has done a U-turn on its promise. The population enumeration phase of Census 2027 is set to begin in February. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Pro-government sources present the open-ended format as the only way to avoid the state arbitrating caste identities, citing administrative neutrality. Critical sources, including Congress and Justice Eswaraiah, frame the same methodology as deliberate sabotage, highlighting that the government's own 2021 Supreme Court affidavit recommended a drop-down menu. The core factual dispute is whether the open-ended field is a neutral data-collection choice or a method to produce unusable data and avoid a genuine caste census. Readers should note that the government has not yet publicly explained the departure from its earlier recommendation, and the February enumeration start provides a clear deadline for any methodology change. ## Coverage Coverage: 4 sources, 3 government-critical, 1 neutral - deccanherald.com (government critical) Leads with Ramadoss alleging flawed methodology will derail social justice, frames government plan as incompetent. - telanganatoday.com (neutral report) Editorial analysing both sides, notes open-ended format risks data chaos but also states government's neutrality justification. - rediff.com (government critical) Strongly critical interview, accuses government of sabotage and U-turn, uses emotional language like 'bury backward classes'. - economictimes.indiatimes.com (government critical) Leads with Congress allegation of nefarious purpose, contrasts current methodology with government's own 2021 affidavit. This story was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 4 sources. Last updated 2026-08-19T11:04:00+00:00. Tags: Anbumani Ramadoss, Bihar, Census 2027, PMK, Registrar General of India, Telangana Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/anbumani-ramadoss-urges-caste-census-to-use-official-lists/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/anbumani-ramadoss-urges-caste-census-to-use-official-lists/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/