New Delhi- The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has taken cognizance of a complaint regarding the use of allegedly casteist and derogatory words in an official list of Scheduled Castes prepared for the upcoming Census operations in Punjab.

In a notice dated May 14, issued from its headquarters in New Delhi, the NCSC directed the Director, Directorate of Census Operations, Punjab (Chandigarh), and the Principal Secretary, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment and Minorities, Government of Punjab, to submit a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) within 15 days.

The report must cover the incident details, actions taken (including any FIRs, arrests, charge sheets, and compensation under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act), in a specified format.

The complaint was filed on May 6, by Hardeep Singh Gill, Vice Chairperson of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, and forwarded to NCSC Chairperson Kishor Makwana. It highlights objectionable terms in the Punjab government’s official Scheduled Castes list (specifically linked to entry No. 2 concerning the Valmiki community and related groups) circulated for census use. These terms appear in both English and Punjabi columns and are viewed as derogatory slurs historically associated with communities traditionally engaged in sanitation work.

The NCSC has warned that failure to respond within the stipulated time may lead it to exercise powers equivalent to a civil court, including issuing summons for personal appearance of officials.

What is the Issue?

The core issue is the inclusion of terms widely regarded as casteist slurs in an official government document used for the Census 2027 (self-enumeration phase concluded recently, followed by house-to-house enumeration). These appear in the longstanding official list of Punjab’s Scheduled Castes (not a new addition; the proforma has been in use since at least the 2011 Census and stems from constitutional orders).

The list enumerates castes/sub-castes for data collection to inform welfare policies. The Valmiki /Balmiki community, part of Scheduled Castes and often linked to sanitation work, has strongly objected to the specific references, which they say stigmatize and cause resentment.

Director of Census Operations, Punjab, Navjot Khosa, has stated that the proforma is routine, unchanged for decades, and intended only for enumeration not as slurs. No new castes were added. "The proforma we have given to the enumerators is in use since 1950. There are 39 castes in Punjab. The proforma is meant to ask the people about their castes. It is not being used as a slur. The caste-based Census is conducted to formulate policies for the welfare of different castes", she stated.

Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases. Phase-I has been completed with self-enumeration from April 30 to May 14, followed by house-to-house enumeration from May 15 to June 13. Phase-ll includes population enumeration, which is scheduled from February 9-28 in 2027.

Census 2027 will be the 16th Census in India and the 8th after Independence. The last Census was conducted in 2011, while the 2021 Census was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.