BACKWARD CLASSES account for 56.33% of Telangana’s population, according to data released on Sunday from the state’s Socio Economic, Educational, Employment, Political, and Caste survey report, which has been tabled before a Cabinet sub-committee. Scheduled Castes (SC) account for 17.43% of the population and Scheduled Tribes (ST) account for 10.45%, according to the survey. Other Castes (OC) make up 15.79% of the population. In absolute numbers, the population of Backward Classes (BC) in the state is 1,99,85,767, including 35,76,588 BC Muslims. The SC population is 61,84,319 and ST population is 37,05,929. The OC population in the state is 44,21,115. The Muslim population in the state, according to the survey, is 44,57,012 – about 12.56% of the population. Of this, BC Muslims make up 10.08% and OC Muslims account for 2.48%. The survey covered 3,54,77,554 people and 96.9% of the households in Telangana in a span of 50 days, state minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said at a press conference in Hyderabad on Sunday. The announcement was made after a meeting between ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy, D Seethakka, Ponnam Prabhakar and Damodar Raja Narasimha. The survey was conducted by deploying 94,863 enumerators and 9,628 supervisors across 94,261 enumeration blocks. A total of 76,000 data entry operators digitised the information within 36 days. It was undertaken by the state’s planning department after a resolution to that effect was passed in the Assembly on February 4, 2024. The findings will “help refine welfare schemes, improve job opportunities, and uplift weaker sections”, according to the government. The caste survey was one of the promises made by the Congress in Telangana in its election manifesto in 2023. The party swept to power that year, defeating the regional Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the Assembly election. At the press conference, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that in comparison with Bihar, where a similar survey was undertaken, Telangana’s process was smooth and efficient. “It is a historic day for social justice in Telangana. The completed report stands as a milestone that will redefine governance and policy-making in the state,” he said. The minister announced that the report would be presented before the Cabinet on February 4. It will also be put up for a short discussion in the Assembly on the same day. “This marks a significant step towards data-driven governance, fulfilling a major promise made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. The Congress government, led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, has now laid the foundation for welfare policies based on real-time socio-economic data,” he said. The survey did face hurdles along its way. “Among the key operational challenges were that 1.03 lakh houses were found locked, 1.68 lakh families were initially hesitant to participate, and 84,137 houses were misclassified due to non-residential usage or occupants being non-Telangana residents,” Reddy said. BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the survey is a “golden chapter in the history of Telangana because large swaths of people participated in it, showing trust in the Congress government”.
