The Centre has cited the need for harmony among caste groups to stall the socio-economic caste census...

The demand had already been raised in states like Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar...

OBC reservation became an indispensable part of policy after the Mandal Commission, while caste vote banks came to be as indispensable in the electoral contest...

Move draws the ire of OBC groups, with them questioning the intention of the government and claiming the data was largely fine...

The Bihar chief minister had earlier, on August 4, written a letter to the prime minister seeking a discussion on the issue...

The NDA government plans to create a one-stop database of households’ economic status that will help identify potential beneficiaries of welfare schemes...

The central govt, however, did not seem keen on maintaining caste data, thereby garnering agitation threats from leaders of different social groups ...