In the Lok Sabha elections 2024, all political parties openly used caste fault lines in the selection of candidates and advocated for a caste-based census which was abolished after independence as above mentioned SECC 2011 and Bihar caste census have no legal sanctity and are termed unreliable.

New Delhi (ABC Live): Indian polity even after the passage of 88 years of getting independence from British rule is still using the caste system tool to rule as colonial rulers did through their policy of "divide and rule" to maintain their control over India.

Know why the caste system in India flourished under British rule and still prevails?

The British colonial administration recognized and institutionalized the caste system as a means of social control and governance. They used caste classifications to categorize and govern the vast and diverse Indian population. Despite the fact the constitution of India considers all citizens at par except (SC/ST) whom it considers deprived thus grants reservation Indian polity even after 88 years of getting independence still uses caste faultiness in India to govern the vast and diverse Indian population alike colonial rulers.

Also as the British codified the caste system through the 1891 census wherein 60 sub-groups each subdivided into six occupational and racial categories were included and the number increased in subsequent censuses but was abolished in census after independence and now again various political parties are batting for conducting caste census identical to British era 1891 census for reasons best known to them.

The British employed a policy of "divide and rule" to maintain their control over India. They exploited existing social divisions, including caste differences, to weaken indigenous power structures and prevent unified resistance against colonial rule. By reinforcing caste distinctions, the British exacerbated social tensions and prevented the emergence of a unified anti-colonial movement, whereas it is strange that the Indian polity in 2024 is using divide and rule to grab their pie of political power in the same caste fault line as colonial rulers did for their interests.

The Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC) was conducted for the 2011 Census of India. The Manmohan Singh government approved the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 to be carried out after discussion in both houses of Parliament in 2010.SECC-2011 was not done under the 1948 Census of India Act and the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India was not entrusted to do the same. The SECC 2011 was conducted in all states and union territories of India and the first findings were revealed on 3 July 2015.

In the year 2023, Bihar announced the findings of the first-ever caste census since the country’s independence in 1947.

In the Lok Sabha elections 2024, all political parties openly used caste fault lines in the selection of candidates and advocated for a caste-based census which was abolished after independence as above mentioned SECC 2011 and Bihar caste census have no legal sanctity and are termed unreliable.