People who are frustrated by this caste census is missing one VERY CRITICAL angle to all this.
Modi, i think we can all agree, is kattar RSS. THAT is his root- he is more RSS than Bhajipao and his attitude reflects this - including his attitude towards muslims (which RSS consider as in-group for indian muslims).
Now, while i dont agree with RSS on everything (especially their view on muslims or sikhs etc) i DO agree with them on one thing - caste - the notion of caste- must be abolished.
I've heard a million hindus say 'caste should be abolished/we shouldnt have caste' etc but when i ask 'ok. how do we do this ?', the answer is ALWAYS a total duffer answer- like 'just get rid of caste reservations'.
Which is code for 'let all the lower caste become muslim or christian or bhimta due to sheer outrage of ending a reservation THEY have been taught all their life they deserve due to historic oppression that lead to current backwardness'.
Yes, such a genius idea -> ban caste reservations/delete any caste-code in constitution--> lose 20-30% hindus instantly from hinduism.
So how do you get rid of caste in the first place ?? You have to de-legitimize the NEED for caste-based reservations in the first place.
And inorder to do that, the FIRST STEP is to do a census, because census will yeild demogaphic data, particularly economic data.
We've had caste based affirmation since 1950s, but we have little to no data on how wealth is distributed in 2025 by basis of caste.
We have NO IDEA if lower castes have caught up to brahmins in wealth/land ownership etc or not. And if they have - or if the data is only tiny bit off from one another, ONLY THEN can we shift the overton window to 'hey look 70 years of caste reservations worked, now things are equalized on caste basis so no need for further reservations, as now it will create reverse caste system, as any preferential treatment policy towards the downtrodden, that works, if it goes on too long, makes the downtrodden the elite and the elite the downtrodden'.
*THIS* is the only feasible method of getting rid of caste from a legal/constitutional basis without causing a significant blowback towards hinduism itself and fracturing it down the middle.
Can this be misused ? yes. Will this be misused by the opposition ? probably. But fortune favours the bold and you have to take bold steps to make social engineering happen. it is OUR job, along with the biggest party in the world, to shape the narrative and deduce conclusions that suit us( us as in overall hindu unity+hindus as a whole, not just upper castes or general class) to do the social engineering we need to do.
And yes, i walk the walk when it comes to castelessness - i dont believe in caste, i am 'by caste' a kuleen brahmin, i am married to a western casteless mleccha. But it matters jack shit to me, because my wife is more hindu than 90% hindus on the planet, she can recite mantras and slokas better than me.
And yes, i made her a hindu - she just ran with it much further than i did or ever will.
PS: People also need to realize one thing about caste history - it did NOT solidify in Indian history till the fall of Magadh empire and rise of the Satavahanas- Satavahana inscriptions are the FIRST EVER inscription/textual evidence in Indian history of implementing manusmriti code for caste as a matter of law. And satavahana inscriptions make it clear - they are the FIRST to ever implement manusmriti jaati system as a matter of law and they also make it clear that its due to popular demand.
As a student of history i have often asked myself 'why them ? and why then ? why not before or after ? why not more powerful empires before and after who were as kattar hindus ?'
And the only answer i can think of, is that Satavahana empire came at a turning point in Indian history- for the FIRST TIME IN INDIAN HISTORY, Indian heartland had foreign rulers tussling for power over it ( Indo Greeks, the Shakas, the Indo-Parthians, etc) and this is FIRST TIME in Indian history that foreign rule has crossed the Indus ( Alexander doesnt count- he didnt rule - he came, he whacked a few local kings, he fucked off in 1 year flat).
This is the period where the Indo-Greeks formed, where Buddhism & hinduism fused with greek paganism, where Gandharan art form (which is greek sculpting techniques for realism mixed in with Indian hand & feet mudra poses) formed.
perhaps, in this great period of social upheaval, the desi awaam chose caste as a method to preserve their desi orthodoxy structures, which is a natural reaction to huge social upheavals ( look at USA today turning conservative christian right wing due to rise of LGBT child-grooming pedophilia ideology of queer theory and gender theory).
Thats just my theory on 'why did caste become locked in during Satavahana period'. Ofcourse, this is the varna system caste system, where chamar married chamar, baniya married baniya only, not the 4-fold caste system of the British classification ( which they were able to do, as its just a variation of the locked in varna system)