India launched a year-long census this week, an exercise aimed at collecting detailed information on its roughly 1.4 billion citizens. Since the last census in 2011, India has surpassed China as the world’s most populous country.
Originally scheduled for 2021, the census was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, it is the first census in nearly a century to collect detailed caste data. This development is particularly significant for the country’s religious minority populations, including Christians, and could pose serious risks to their livelihoods, freedom, and even citizenship.
Since its 1951 census — conducted four years after independence from Britain — India has collected information only on scheduled castes and tribes. This time, far more detailed data will be gathered.
Religious Minorities Excluded from Certain Government Benefits
The caste system assigns individuals to social strata based on birth. While practiced by Indians of various religions, it has deep roots in Hindu culture. Though outlawed for decades, it remains deeply embedded in society, shaping nearly every aspect of life and, critics argue, enabling Hindu nationalist actors to pressure religious minorities.
Under Indian law, members of certain disadvantaged groups — “Scheduled Castes” and some tribal communities — are eligible for social welfare programs. These benefits serve as a vital lifeline for many impoverished Indians, helping meet basic daily needs.
However, a 1950 order establishing the Scheduled Caste system excludes Christian and religious minority Indians of low-caste backgrounds from receiving these benefits. “No person who professes a religion different from the Hindu religion,” the order states, “shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste.”
Later amendments extended eligibility to Sikhs and Buddhists, effectively creating a legal hierarchy that continues to disadvantage Christians, the country’s third-largest religious group.
This exclusion is often justified by the claim that non-Hindus have removed themselves from the caste system. Critics argue this logic is flawed, as it ignores the continued social discrimination faced by converts and the compounded vulnerability of those who are both low-caste and members of a religious minority.
As a result, many face reduced access to education, employment, and social services, while also being more vulnerable to hostility and violence from extremist groups.
An estimated 350 million to 370 million people belong to Scheduled Castes or tribal communities, many of whom depend on these programs to avoid extreme poverty or even starvation. Benefits also include access to education and reserved jobs.
Amid a broader rise in Hindu nationalism since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, discrimination against religious minorities has intensified. Civil society leaders estimate that tens of millions of Christians and other religious minorities conceal their religious identity to retain access to these benefits and avoid social and economic repercussions.
Threat to Minority Communities
Every census since independence has included questions about religion. In practice, some Christians report misrepresenting their faith due to the significant legal and social consequences of formally identifying as non-Hindu. When discovered, individuals may lose jobs, educational opportunities, and other benefits tied to Scheduled Caste status.
In one documented case, the daughter of a Dalit-background contact lost access to Scheduled Caste benefits after a university official noticed her father’s biblical name in application materials. Field research suggests such cases are not isolated.
The combination of detailed caste data with religious identification raises concerns that vulnerable minority populations — many already dependent on government support — could be exposed to further discrimination.
Risks extend beyond economic consequences. The threat of mob violence remains a persistent reality for many religious minorities and may intensify as the census is conducted nationwide.
Analysts have also raised concerns about potential links between the census and citizenship policies. In recent years, the Modi government has introduced measures such as the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, which critics say disproportionately affect religious minorities while favoring Hindus. This census will be the first conducted since those measures were introduced.
For many poor Indians, retaining access to Scheduled Caste benefits is essential. Poverty remains widespread, particularly among Dalit communities. According to the CIA World Factbook, roughly one-third of Indian children under age five are underweight — ranking India among the highest globally.
For Christians and other minorities who rely on these benefits, losing access could have severe and far-reaching consequences.
