Kochi: In a bold departure from prevailing political narratives, the Catholic Congress has strongly objected to the push for a caste-based census in India, urging the government instead to conduct a “backward census” that examines socio-economic indicators. The organization contends that only a survey focused on real indicators of poverty and marginalization can lead to equitable and constitutionally valid policymaking.

Speaking at the Catholic Congress Working Committee meeting held in Kochi, President Prof. Rajeev Kochuparambil emphasized that a caste census would undermine the values enshrined in the Constitution and risk reviving social divisions India has long tried to overcome. “The caste system is something the Indian Constitution intended to eliminate 75 years ago. To bring it back through an official census would be a betrayal of that vision,” he said.

The organization’s leadership—including Director Dr. Philip Kavil and General Secretary Dr. Josukutty Ozhukayil—warned that such a caste enumeration would derail national unity and development. “A developed nation should measure disparities based on economic and educational parameters, not birth-based identity,” said Dr. Kavil.

The Catholic Congress expressed concerns that a caste census would further marginalize communities that have already faced discrimination and neglect. The group highlighted the inconsistency in how caste identity is treated post-religious conversion, noting that while converts are officially considered to have shed their caste identities, backward communities within these groups continue to suffer exclusion from affirmative action programs.

Instead, the Congress proposed a data-driven approach that maps backwardness by evaluating living conditions, education levels, land ownership, and employment status across all communities, irrespective of caste. “We are asking for justice, not tokenism,” stated Dr. Ozhukayil.

In a carefully worded resolution, the Catholic Congress called on the Union Government to reject caste-based enumeration and initiate a national backwardness survey. The body stressed that only such a method would lead to evidence-based policymaking that targets real inequality, rather than reinforcing outdated social hierarchies.

This statement comes at a time when various state governments and political parties are pressing for a caste census, making the Catholic Congress’s position a significant moral and intellectual intervention in the broader national discourse on identity, justice, and governance.