Congress Renews Call for Caste Census After Survey Exposes Disparities in Sewer and Septic Tank Workforce

New Delhi- In light of a recent government survey that reveals a staggering 92% of sewer and septic tank workers in India belong to marginalized communities, the Congress party has renewed its call for a national caste census. The data, collected under the government's NAMASTE Programme, has sparked widespread political reactions, with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge intensifying the demand on social media. He urged the government to focus on urgent issues like the Manipur crisis, the national census, and specifically, the caste census.

The survey, which profiled over 38,000 workers from 29 states and union territories, found that 68.9% of these laborers belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC), 14.7% to Other Backward Classes (OBC), and 8.3% to Scheduled Tribes (ST). Only 8% of workers came from the general category, underscoring the stark over-representation of marginalized communities in hazardous sanitation work.

Congress leader Kharge highlighted this disproportionate participation of marginalized groups in a social media post, where he took aim at Home Minister Amit Shah and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "A survey conducted by your own government says that 92% of the workers cleaning urban sewers and septic tanks come from SC, ST, OBC categories," Kharge wrote, emphasizing the urgent need for a caste census. He further argued that the BJP’s resistance to the caste census stems from fears that such data would expose the socioeconomic conditions of SC, ST, OBC, and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), and how government schemes should be tailored to address their specific needs.

The NAMASTE Programme, launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, aims to mechanize sewer maintenance and eliminate the dangerous practice of manual scavenging. The data from this survey has amplified the Congress party's long-standing demand for a comprehensive caste-based census. The party asserts that the census is essential to ensuring equitable participation in government schemes for marginalized communities.

In its social media posts, the Congress declared its determination to carry out a caste census, pledging, “We will get it done, at all costs.” The party argues that a caste census will reveal the true socio-economic status of India’s marginalized groups and ensure that government policies are designed to address their specific challenges, including those related to sanitation and manual labor.

The call for caste census comes amid broader discussions on social justice, with Congress reiterating its commitment to representing the interests of 90% of India's population, who belong to the SC, ST, OBC, and EWS categories.