It is the C word that counts.
It has been almost a hundred years since the last nation-wide caste count. The 1931 Census, a British exercise, accounted for 4,147 castes. The Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011 returned over 46 lakh caste names. Castes are countless. Caste, by definition, divides. And in the modern period, castes have only multiplied.
Many advocates of social justice believe that counting castes will help redress inequalities. Is this true? What will a more detailed headcount reveal? How will the data be used? In an age when the state often fudges truth and numbers, what are the consequences? Will there be a quota for everyone? Can annihilation of caste ever be a reality?
Review
Rarely have I learnt more from a disagreement—YOGENDRA YADAV
Dazzlingly scholarly, accessible, pungently polemical—NIVEDITA MENON
A thought-provoking book about annihilating caste—TONY JOSEPH
The debate over caste will be richer with this work—SUHAS PALSHIKAR
Powerfully argued … demands urgent attention—GYAN PRAKASH
Dissects the politics of caste … a must-read book—JENS LERCHE
This will displease both the right and the left—BALMURLI NATRAJAN
About the Author
Anand Teltumbde wades through the history, maths and dynamics of this debate, and lays bare all that is at stake.
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