The delimitation question & Telangana caste survey | South Central 72

Hosts discuss delimitation and what states should now be discussing with the Union government. They also look at the Telangana government’s Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey 2024.

Published on:

25 Apr 2026, 6:21 am

In this episode of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna first discuss delimitation and what states should now be discussing with the Union government. They are joined by former IAS officer, banker, and author Rangarajan Ramakrishnan.

Dhanya opens the discussion with the Union government’s projection of the delimitation being about the Women’s Reservation Bill. “The Reservation was like the Trojan horse here. The point, though, is that in future, delimitation cannot be avoided. What solutions can we look at?” she asks.

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“The recent Amendment Bill clubbed delimitation with Women’s Reservation without adequate discussion. But the fact is also that men will be happy about not conceding their space. In hard politics, all this becomes so cutthroat that giving one-third of an expanded house may look acceptable for everyone. There are some Constitutional issues involved. This is not a kirana shop bargain, because the Constitution still says that, as far as practicable, the proportion of seats may be the same as that of the states. This was not there in the Bill. This amendment is not water-tight because democracy is by the people, and rule by majority means one person, one vote. Even if the Constitution is amended, we can always challenge it citing proportion,” says Rangarajan.

Dhanya asks what a solution may be.

“The present status is that delimitation of seats cannot be done by increasing the number of seats beyond 550. It is quite possible that the census happens in 2027, figures get published in 2028, and with delimitation, we can alter the number of seats. If the existing 543 seats are increased based on population, southern and north-eastern states will lose heavily. This means the 2029 parliamentary election may not reflect the Women’s Reservation. There is no straightforward solution,” Rangarajan adds.

One solution, he says, is leaving the 543 seats as it is. “We have lived with this disproportionate representation for the last 50 years. The population across the country has started to stabilise. The real job of an MP is legislating Union list issues. If we want an increase, raising the number of MLAs is a solution so that people can go to them with day-to-day issues. If at all we want to increase Parliament seats, there must be a thorough debate. With respect to women, the question is whether men want to let go of the seats as they stand now,” he further says.

Pooja says that the problem was the way in which the Bill was introduced. “It was not sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee as well. But I think placating men with more seats and giving women more representation defeats the purpose. With delimitation, one vote one value can be negotiated in other ways, as Rangarajan said. Having more MPs may not ensure better governance, and in that sense, delimitation does not seem necessary,” she adds.

“If we need delimitation, the states’ share must have a freeze so that there is some sense of parity,” Pooja says.

Dhanya also says that freezing the seats at 543 looks like a good middle ground. “A freeze would be in the interest of everyone, not just southern states. But it is doubtful if the BJP will agree,” she adds.

The panel further delves into what the smaller states stand to lose, the optics of the whole conversation, and whether delimitation is a process that the country will inevitably have to face in the future.

In the second part of the episode, the hosts discuss the Telangana government’s Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey 2024, the main findings of the survey, how poverty intermingles with caste to create marginalisations, and more. They are joined by academician and commentator Professor PL Visweshwar Rao, and TNM’s Executive Editor Sudipto Mondal.

Prof. Rao says that the Telangana state was created based on the backward profile of the region. “This survey states that 56.6% castes fall under the OBC category. This is not just a caste survey because the aim was to look at the power, land ownership, and other aspects. This survey puts on record how most of the political power is consolidated in a few castes, and the OBCs have not had that kind of power,” he adds.

He also says that the survey puts on record the levels of poverty and social discrimination. “13% lack toilets, 21.2% do not have pipe water, 27.5% live in small rooms, financial vulnerability is 6.8%, and so on. It is also important to understand how among the various castes, 62.7% of SCs completed only intermediate education. Among BCs it is 57.7% The reality is mind boggling, making this survey very important. This should have been released earlier, but the Union government is not interested to put such data out,” he adds.

Sudipto says that these are things which are now no longer open to interpretation, because this data establishes imbalances along caste lines as a fact. “In Bihar, there were a lot of hopes for the caste survey, saying it would invert the political pyramid. But that has not happened. Telangana has a history of anti-caste assertions, on the other hand. How will this data change political movements that seek reparations?” he asks.

“One reason the government has put out this data just when the Women’s Reservation Bill was discussed is put pressure on the Union to carry out caste census and publish the data. When the Mnadal Commission came, the SC said there is no empirical data. Now, for the first time, there is some data, and a few political movements are already emerging. Political parties will now have to recognise the demographic profile,” says Prof. Rao.

Pooja takes the example of Bihar, saying how the politics is impacted by the numerical strength of the Yadavs, while their educational or social status have not improved. “In Telangana, the Reddys have land, which means it gives them power to influence the local politics and gain access to education and other things. But will a Reddy CM now vacate his seat for them?” she asks.

Sudipto says that even among the feudal communities, there are complexities. “This survey shows how a social group which is highly wealthy and powerful is also not very educated. A combination of wealth and no education creates issues, which we must now look at. In these communities as well, there is a very patriarchal hierarchy of power, which forms smaller blocs of power. So we must go further into these imagined feudal blocs to understand how disparities operate even within them,” he adds.

The panel further discusses how inequality becomes graded withing castes and how the survey data becomes a flashpoint to form a better informed picture of how marginalisation percolates.

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Audio Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:01:59 - Headlines

00:08:55 - Delimitation

00:40:23 - Telangana Caste Survey

01:12:17 - Recommendations

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