NationalSunday, 12 July 2026·The Hindu - Tamil Nadu
Census 2027 questionnaire and caste census concerns: OBC data collection issue raised
A Tamil Nadu forum questioned whether Census 2027 questionnaire provisions adequately capture OBC community details and caste census data.
Key highlights
Direct fact
On Sunday, a national symposium organised by the Party for the Rights of OBCs raised doubts over the Census 2027 questionnaire, especially whether it would collect OBC community details and include a caste census.
Key specifics
- V. Rathna Sabhapathy, president of the Party for the Rights of OBCs, said the 12th question had no provision to collect details of OBC communities.
- He referred to the Mandal Commission era, when there were about 3,000 odd OBC communities.
- He also cited the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census, when many thousand communities were listed.
- He said that in 2019 Union Minister Rajnath Singh had stated that a caste census would be conducted.
- The issue is linked to reservation policy because socio-economic conditions of OBCs are needed to decide reservation, he said.
Exam lens
Question type: Polity and census-related current affairs; key facts: Census 2027, 12th question, OBC details, Mandal Commission, 2011 SECC, 2019 Rajnath Singh statement. TNPSC may ask which census-related exercise listed many thousand communities in 2011.