Saturday, March 29, 2025
How RSS Cleared the Path for BJP on Caste Census
In a significant political move, the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday announced that it will conduct a nationwide caste census. With this decision, the government has effectively neutralized one of the Opposition’s core demands — a point that leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, and Tejashwi Yadav had long used to target the BJP. They often accused the BJP of being anti-OBC, SC, and ST due to its reluctance to conduct a caste-based enumeration.
With state elections looming in Bihar and West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh heading to polls in 2027, the timing of the announcement appears strategic. The census results are expected before the 2027 elections, potentially helping the BJP tailor its campaign using community-specific data.
Until now, the BJP-led central government had not taken a clear stance on the caste census. So why the sudden U-turn?
Sources within the BJP and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) suggest this decision was the outcome of nearly nine months of internal brainstorming. Although discussions had been ongoing, the leadership was waiting for the “right moment” — a time when the issue wasn’t being aggressively raised by the Opposition. The idea was to avoid appearing as though the government had yielded to political pressure.
Interestingly, the announcement came at a time when many expected the Modi government to respond to the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir — making the timing of the caste census announcement all the more surprising.
The groundwork for this shift was laid back in September last year when the RSS informally expressed support for a caste census during its All India Representative Meeting in Palakkad, Kerala. After that meeting, RSS communication head Sunil Ambekar publicly stated that the Sangh was in favor of a caste census, but only if it served social justice rather than political gain. He emphasized the caste issue’s sensitivity, adding that any census must be used to strengthen societal welfare, not to divide voters.
According to sources, the final green light was given after a two-hour meeting between RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Prime Minister Modi earlier this week. Though rumors initially suggested the meeting was about India’s response to the recent terrorist attack, Wednesday’s announcement confirmed the real subject: the caste census.
This move aligns with the RSS’s long-term goal of unifying Hindu society, which has historically been fragmented along caste lines. Their active support on the caste census issue signals a strategic shift to accommodate emerging socio-political realities.
Now, attention turns to how the political landscape will evolve once the caste data becomes public.
