The Sandip Roy Show Do we really need a caste census? ft Anand Teltumbde and Yogendra Yadav
21 snips
Jan 25, 2026 
Yogendra Yadav, political analyst and activist known for electoral commentary and the Bharat Jodo Abhiyan; Anand Teltumbde, scholar and civil rights writer focused on caste and social policy. They debate the origins and risks of a caste census. Conversations cover whether counting freezes identities, if census data is needed for reservations, dangers of politicised numbers, and alternative tools like universal services and targeted reforms.
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Colonial Roots Of Caste Counting
- The British introduced caste enumeration as part of a colonial strategy to categorize and control India.
- Anand Teltumbde argues this colonial counting froze fluid social categories into bureaucratic jatis.
Post-Independence Counting Is Partial
- Caste counting continued selectively after independence for SC/ST with specific caste names recorded in every census.
- Yogendra Yadav says the Mandal ruling created an imperative to count OBCs too, since reservations were granted without knowing their size.
Census As An MRI, Not Just A Headcount
- Census is more than headcount: adding jati lets you cross-tabulate 60+ variables to map education and economic profiles by caste.
- Yogendra Yadav argues only the census can give village-level socio-economic MRIs necessary for policy.
