OBC column missing from census questionnaire, says Congress
The Indian National Congress has criticized the government for excluding the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category from the 2027 census questionnaire. Party officials argue this omission hinders accurate population tracking and undermines social justice efforts.
Why it matters
The inclusion of caste data in the census is a highly contentious political issue in India, directly impacting reservation policies and social welfare resource allocation.
The Congress on Monday (August 17, 2026) accused the Modi government of deliberately excluding the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category from the census questionnaire, alleging that the omission was part of a “deep conspiracy” to keep the community’s actual population out of official data.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress office, party’s OBC department national chairman Anil Jaihind said the OBC category was missing from the 10th question in the questionnaire issued on August 14.
He said the absence of a separate column for the OBCs was against social justice and could make it impossible to determine the community’s actual population.
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