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Telangana BC panel seeks OBC count in 2027 Census
Telangana's Backward Classes Commission chief G Niranjan has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging the government to ensure enumeration of OBCs and SEBCs in the 2027 Census. Niranjan pointed out…
Telangana's Backward Classes Commission chief G Niranjan has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging the government to ensure enumeration of OBCs and SEBCs in the 2027 Census. Niranjan pointed out that the Ministry of Home Affairs' gazette notification on August 14, 2026, and the Census questionnaire, specifically Question No. 10, collect Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe data, but lack clarity on how OBC/BC communities will be identified, classified and counted.
In his letter, Niranjan stressed that reliable caste-wise data is essential for social justice, reservation policies, welfare schemes and evidence-based policymaking. He also sought clarification on whether the central OBC list and respective state BC lists will be mapped into the census system, and whether synonyms, sub-castes and regional names will be standardised under appropriate caste codes. The Commission has asked the Union Home Ministry for a clear response on these concerns.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The demand for OBC enumeration in the Census is not new. The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 collected caste data, but its results were never officially published as a national caste count. The Union government has resisted a full caste census, arguing that the SECC data already exists and that a fresh count could reopen political demands for quota rejigging. Telangana’s own caste survey, completed in 2024, found that OBCs constitute over 56% of the state’s population. The BC Commission wants the central list of OBCs and state-specific lists to be mapped in the same census system, which would require standardising hundreds of sub-caste and synonym names. The next concrete signal is the gazette notification of the Census questionnaire, expected by August 2026, which will reveal whether OBC categories appear alongside SC/ST entries. The political stakes are high: any official OBC count will directly affect reservation percentages, welfare budget allocations and seat-sharing arrangements in states that go to polls between 2027 and 2029.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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