National Opposition and regional leaders formed a delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of including caste as a category in the national census. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said that “Caste enumeration is a historical, pro-poor solution. The refusal of the BJP government to do so is the reason why the political situation in the country is unstable and uncertain”. He tweeted about the issue earlier this month as well.

The caste system in Hinduism is nearly 2,000 years old. Brahmins/Pandits/Pujaris have traditionally been on the top of the pyramid while the Dalits have been historically relegated to an “untouchable” status along with indigenous Adivasis. These two have always occupied the bottom-most positions of the caste system. There are other castes all along the graded spectrum of the caste system that have not been properly enumerated. There is no comprehensive list of all listed castes by number or as a proportion of population.