From Counting to Power: India's Untold War

An incomplete caste census is not data — it is an illusion.

The Government of India has ordered a caste census, which raises a question: is a caste census the key to social justice, or politics' newest weapon? Caste in India is a reality we all know but avoid acknowledging. We talk about modernity, yet our decisions are still shaped by caste.

The author argues that simply counting how many people belong to each caste would produce statistics, not social reality. To understand society as it really is, the census must also record average income, homes, land and assets, participation in the public and private sectors, levels of education and mobility across generations.

The book takes no side, for or against anyone. It offers a balanced but clear perspective — where the questions are hard, but necessary.

Key Themes

• The origins of caste and why it endures
• Historic turning points such as the Poona Pact
• The complex debates on reservation, representation and social justice
• The caste-census question now at the centre of Indian politics