Number Theory: Will a caste-based redistribution pitch have political traction?

The Congress has made the caste census its central political plank for the 2024 elections. What has made this pitch interesting is that the Congress has been arguing that such an exercise will inform policy making which will be able to bring down overall inequality in the country rather than just increase the share of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in government jobs. Will such a political plank gather traction in an election? HT has analysed the government’s latest data on asset inequality in India to address this question in a two-part data journalism series.

• ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  

  Abhishek Jha is a data journalist. He analyses public data for finding news, with a focus on the environment, Indian politics and economy, and Covid-19.

• ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  

  Roshan Kishore is the Data and Political Economy Editor at Hindustan Times. His weekly column for HT Premium Terms of Trade appears every Friday.