CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to adopt a drop-down-based system for recording caste details in the upcoming caste Census, instead of allowing respondents to enter caste names manually.

In a letter to Modi, Anbumani said an open-ended system could create confusion as several communities have sub-castes, denominations and locally used names that may not appear separately in official caste lists. This, he said, could result in duplication, inconsistencies and difficulties in classifying the data.

Anbumani pointed to the 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census, where respondents were allowed to enter their caste names freely. He said the exercise reportedly generated around 46.70 lakh caste entries, compared to 4,147 castes recorded in the 1931 caste census, making the data difficult to standardise and use for social justice policies.

He said the Centre and State governments already maintain official lists of recognised castes and communities and suggested integrating these lists into the census application. Enumerators could then select the appropriate caste from a dropdown menu, with the corresponding caste code recorded.

Anbumani cited the caste surveys conducted in Bihar in 2023 and Telangana in 2024, where structured caste lists were used, as examples of the system being feasible.

He urged the Prime Minister to direct the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India to adopt the system before caste enumeration begins from September 1 in hill States and February 1 next year in other States.

Calling the issue urgent, Anbumani said accurate and standardised caste data was essential for evidence-based social justice policies.