Can an Indian state conduct a census? What does the lawbook say?

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), on Monday (August 28), made a significant declaration in the Supreme Court in response to the Bihar government's caste-based survey, which concluded on August 6, 2023.

The MHA, in an affidavit, stated that conducting a census is a statutory process governed by the Census Act of 1948, with the subject of the census falling under Entry 69 of the Union List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. This means that only the central government can carry out such an exercise.

Thus, the Bihar caste-based census has sparked a contentious debate over whether a state government has the authority to conduct a census.

What does the Constitution say?

• The legal and constitutional basis for the debate lies in the interpretation of the Census Act of 1948 and the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• The Union List, under Entry 69, grants the central government authority over census-related matters, which has led the central government to assert that only it can conduct a census.
• As a result, the Census Commissioner of India carries out a census every ten years on a pan-India level.
• Moreover, Article 340 of the Indian Constitution mandates the appointment of a commission by the President, to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes, aligning with the need for caste data.

However, proponents of the Bihar caste census argue that their action is not in direct violation of the Census Act. Why?

ALSO READ: Why is Bihar going to conduct its own caste-based census?

The Bihar Government's perspective

• The Bihar government says that what they carried out was not a full-scale census but rather a survey focused on caste demographics conducted for the welfare of its citizens.
• They have been arguing that the data collected will be used to tailor and target state welfare measures in accordance with the specific needs of various communities.
• “This is a social survey. The information got from the exercise would be analysed,” Bihar Government's advocate Shyam Divan said.
• According to the Mandal Commission, the share of the Other Backward Classes in India's population in 1979-80 was 52%.
• The report of the last socio-economic caste census of 2011 carried out by the Ministry of Rural Development was never published, resulting in the OBCs missing out on the perks of the welfare schemes.
• The decennial census carried out by the centre only collects the data of the Scheduled castes.

The states can, however, utilise preexisting state laws and regulations, or put in place a new law under item 45 of the Concurrent List within the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution to promote the socio-economic advancement of the state. The Bihar government, here is well within its constitutional right to carry such an exercise out as long as it is not a full-scale census.

What matters more is how the ruling parties use the data!

ALSO READ: What Is Bihar’s caste census?