Jharkhand Approves Caste Survey Ahead of Assembly Polls

Jharkhand has become the fourth state to approve a caste survey, following in the footsteps of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The decision, announced by the Champai Soren-led cabinet on Wednesday, comes ahead of the Assembly polls later this year.

In October 2023, Bihar released findings from a year-long caste survey, providing the first detailed data on social composition in decades. Andhra Pradesh began its caste census in January, deploying thousands of enumerators to match previously known caste groups with residents. In February, Congress-ruled Telangana passed a resolution for a comprehensive “door-to-door” caste survey.

Vandana Dadel, principal secretary of the Jharkhand cabinet secretariat, stated that the cabinet has given the green light for a caste survey to be conducted under the supervision of the personnel department. “The Jharkhand cabinet approved the inclusion of caste survey as the responsibility of the department of personnel, administrative reforms and official language in the first schedule of the Jharkhand Executive Rules-2000 (as amended from time to time),” said Dadel.