Bangalore Archdiocese backs caste census, seeks fair representation for Christians

Bengaluru, Sep 26 (PTI) The Archdiocese of Bangalore on Friday welcomed the ongoing Social and Educational Survey—widely referred to as the "caste census"—while expressing hope that omissions of certain castes linked to Christianity in the published lists will be restored after the final analysis of the survey.

Addressing a press conference, Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado urged the government to ensure fair representation of all Christian communities and called on members of the Christian community to "take this survey seriously and responsibly, cooperating in a spirit of civic duty." "The Archdiocese of Bangalore, together with the Christian community, welcomes the Social and Educational Survey (Caste Census) presently underway in Karnataka from September 22 to October 7, 2025," Machado said.

He expressed optimism that omissions of certain castes linked to Christianity would be corrected after the final analysis.

"Deletions, if any, risk denying historical communities their rightful recognition and may cause injustice in accessing welfare schemes," he said, urging the government to address such exclusions.

Machado further told reporters, "Since the government has removed all the other categories, there is no choice for us (Christians). We can’t put any other category in our caste category, which is a little sad. I have told our people that—I leave it to your freedom." "If you belong to a caste and you don’t want to put a caste, I am with you. If you belong to a particular caste and you want to put it, it is left to you," he added.

Earlier, ahead of the survey, amid criticism and objections from various quarters—including within the ruling Congress—over the caste list prepared for the exercise, the Backward Classes Commission had said that the names of 33 castes with dual identities—having both Christian and Hindu caste names such as ‘Kuruba Christian,’ ‘Brahmin Christian,’ and ‘Vokkaliga Christian’—would be "masked but not removed".

Backward Classes Commission Chairman Madhusudan R Naik had clarified that the caste list in the handbook was not intended for public information and had no legal sanctity. "It was only to help the enumerators get the list of castes in the dropdown as per alphabetical order," he said.

Naik added that the survey app would not display these 33 castes with dual identities, as they are currently masked, but citizens are free to self-identify.

Earlier this week, when the BJP petitioned the commission to "mask" 14 SC/ST castes with dual-identity nomenclature—with the suffix "Christian"—claiming they still appeared in the list, Naik clarified that these 14 castes are no longer part of the caste list, as they have already been removed.

Underlining the importance of the caste survey, Archbishop Peter Machado said it would "help identify the real beneficiaries of the government’s economic and social welfare policies." According to him, the survey "will provide a clear classification of different caste groups, enabling the framing of policies and programmes that are just, inclusive, and need-based, and it will assist the state in correcting disparities to ensure the weakest and most marginalised truly benefit." He called on the Christian community to cooperate and take the survey seriously, saying that "a fair and complete census is not only a constitutional exercise but also a step towards ensuring justice, equity, and welfare for all communities of Karnataka." Machado claimed that "under-reporting by Christians in past surveys had led to lower figures" in official reports.

"We are told we are 9.75 lakh in Bengaluru only. So if the numbers increase or improve, perhaps we can ask the government to put us into the 2B or 2C category of OBC," he said. PTI AMP SSK KH