India Embarking on Caste Census

India, for the first time in 80 years, is conducting a caste census according to Saturday's Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald. India's Constitution (Art. 15(2)) bars discrimination on the basis of caste, and abolishes "untouchability" (Art. 17). However, informally the caste system is still important, and the government has created set-asides in university admissions, government jobs and seats in Parliament for "backward castes."  Members of Parliament from backward castes have pressed for the census, arguing that the set-aside programs require the government to know how many people of each caste there are.