How many castes are there in India? census figures…

The debate about caste census is going on in the country. bjp is opposing it at the central level, but the government has not clarified anything yet. Meanwhile, there are also reports that the census may start from September. However, the government has not yet confirmed it. Due to the delay in the census, government schemes and policies are being made according to the census data conducted in the year 2011. In such a situation, let us know how many castes are there in the country and how many people belong to which caste.

How many castes are there in the country?

India's caste system has existed since ancient times and various ethnic groups are identified in it. Castes are traditionally based on the caste system of Hinduism, which consists of four major classes - Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. But, in modern times this system of castes has become even more complex and includes countless sub-castes and ethnic groups.

It is difficult to get an accurate figure of the total number of castes in india, as the process and methods of identifying castes in the census keep changing from time to time. However, the indian Census and various social studies provide us with some important figures. According to the 2011 census data, the total number of Scheduled Castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) in india was 16.6% and 8.6% respectively. On the basis of percentage of total population, the number of Scheduled Castes was around 20 crores and the number of scheduled tribes was around 10 crores.

The number and diversity of castes in india is very high. The number of castes can vary in different states and regions. For example, the number of castes and sub-castes is very high in large states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra. Talking about the total number of castes in india, the data of government and research organizations suggest that the total number of castes in the country can be in thousands. For example, thousands of castes and sub-castes are identified in caste-based data at the state level. According to the 2011 census, there are 1,270 SC, 748 st castes by march 2023.