Kerala’s Nair Service Society opposes caste census, plans legal challenge

The Nair Service Society (NSS), one of Kerala’s most influential community organizations, has come out strongly against the central government’s move to include caste enumeration in the upcoming national census.

The organization has announced plans to initiate legal proceedings against the move, calling it divisive and unconstitutional.

It has formally urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders to withdraw the planned caste enumeration in the 2027 national census.

In a memorandum submitted on June 9, NSS General Secretary G. Sukumaran Nair warned that collecting caste and religion information beyond basic demographics would violate the fundamental right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The NSS emphasised that only data on name, address, gender, and date of birth should be included, arguing that gathering caste details would “sap the nation’s unity” and risk reinstating social divisions reminiscent of colonial-era practices.

Expressing fears that a caste census could revive communal divides, the organization has also made clear its intent to initiate legal proceedings in the Kerala High Court to stop the move.

This opposition emerges in the wake of the central government’s April 30 decision—via the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs—to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census.

Though the Bharatiya Janata Party had long resisted calls for a caste census, analysts see this reversal as a politically calculated move in light of demands from regional parties and shifting voter dynamics.

Reports suggest the decision could help tailor welfare and policy frameworks based on more accurate social data.

However, critics say the policy shift may also be a tactical move by the ruling party to simultaneously appease backward-caste communities and reassure upper-caste constituencies that their interests will be protected.