Caste Census A Long-Standing Demand, Says Owaisi; Lauds Telangana’s Historic Initiative

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Hyderabad: Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday welcomed the Centre’s decision to include caste data in the upcoming national census, calling it a significant step toward social justice. He also highlighted that he had been raising the demand for a caste census since 2021.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Owaisi posted, “The Centre has agreed to include caste data in the upcoming Census exercise. This was needed urgently & it was a long-pending demand of many groups. I’d also made the same demand since 2021.”

In the same post, Owaisi congratulated Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for taking the lead in conducting a caste survey in the state — the first such initiative in independent India. The Telangana survey revealed that 56.32 per cent of the state’s population belongs to Backward Castes (BCs), including BC Muslims.

“This was the first-ever initiative of its kind in Independent India, revealing 56.32 per cent of the state has a Backward Castes (BC) population. Telangana took the extraordinary decision to propose to implement 42 per cent BC reservations also,” he added.

The AIMIM leader also raised concerns over the need for caste-based data among Muslims. “The need of the hour is proper data on the backwardness of Muslims, including the various castes/groups among Muslims. NSSO & other data clearly demonstrates that Muslims are economically, socially & educationally backward,” he stressed.

He further criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for opposing Scheduled Caste (SC) status for Dalit Muslims and for being against reservations for backward Muslims. “It’s for the BJP to be intellectually honest. The data must be collected transparently & put in public domain. Policies of the govt must be consistent with the Census data. The most backward communities should get their fair share in education & employment,” Owaisi asserted.

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