HYDERABAD: Nearly 12 lakh people, enough to rank as the state’s 10th largest community, identified themselves as ‘No Caste’ in the Telangana Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey released on Wednesday night.It shows that this group of 11,96,482 people or 3.4% of the population project themselves as caste neutral, but nearly half of them have caste-related documents to tap welfare schemes, jobs and education. A majority of them are urban, concentrated around Greater Hyderabad, and placed among the least backward groups on the composite backwardness index (CBI).Data suggests that rejecting a caste label is far more common among those who already have education, salaried work, higher income and a degree of insulation from the social and economic consequences that caste continues to impose on others.
The survey treats ‘No Caste’ not as a blank response but as a distinct social phenomenon, while administratively placing the group under the Other Castes (OC) category. Yet, it also records a contradiction at the heart of this identity: 43.3% of those who chose ‘No Caste’ still hold caste certificates. Even as some respondents appear to reject caste as a self-description, they continue to retain caste-linked documentation for navigating institutions or accessing legacy benefits.The survey shows that the ‘No Caste’ population is heavily concentrated in and around Greater Hyderabad. More than 73% live within (former) GHMC limits, and another 13% in surrounding districts. In all, over 86% reside in Greater Hyderabad region comprising GHMC, Rangareddy, Sangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri. The survey reads this concentration as evidence that caste detachment is often enabled by urban anonymity, education, salaried employment and private housing.On education, the group is somewhat better placed than the state average, though not uniformly so across every level. The survey says 30.2% of the ‘No Caste’ population has education at primary level or below, against the state average of 38.1%. It says 36.8% have diploma or above, marginally higher than the state average of 36.3%. That places the group on the better side of the state average, though the gap is not dramatic on every higher-education measure.The sharper differences appear in employment. The survey says 7.7% of the ‘No Caste’ group is in professional govt jobs, compared with 2.8% statewide, while 13.3% is in professional private jobs, against 7.4% statewide. It also records substantial presence in secure and competitive public sector employment and in sectors such as software and medicine. Some of the most striking figures are in elite positions: 22.9% representation in IAS and IPS, 13.2% in other central govt roles, 9.3% among judges, and 9.9% in information technology (IT) jobs, all far above the group’s 3.4% share in the population.Income indicators point in the same direction. The survey says 59.8% of the group reports annual income up to 1 lakh, against 78.2% statewide. At the upper end, 11.5% report annual income above 5 lakh, compared with 4.4% for the state average. It also says 29% of the ‘No Caste’ population are income tax (I-T) payers, against 10.3% statewide. Taken together, these figures place the group among the least backward in the state, reflected also in its CBI score of 48 against the state average of 81.On housing and assets, the profile is more mixed but still favourable overall. The survey says 4.3% of ‘No Caste’ households own a car, compared with 3.2% statewide. It says 47.6% live in homes with two rooms or fewer, against 63.5% statewide, suggesting fewer households at the cramped end of the housing scale. At the same time, 23.2% live in homes with three or more rooms, slightly below the state average of 27.5%. The pattern is less one of overwhelming housing advantage than of lower crowding and somewhat better asset ownership.Caste Left Behind?The survey’s broader argument is that the ‘No Caste’ identity is less about caste disappearing than about some people reaching a point where they can distance themselves from its consequences. This is visible in debt and land data as well. Only 2.2% of ‘No Caste’ households reported crop loans, against 20.4% statewide, showing limited dependence on agriculture-linked borrowing. Only 1.4% reported loans for marriage or medical needs, compared with 7% statewide. The survey reads this as lower vulnerability to major personal shocks and lower reliance on distress borrowing.Land ownership is another strong marker. Among ‘No Caste’ households with land, 75.1% have below five acres, compared with 81.5% statewide. But 17.7% fall in the 5-20 acre range, against 14.8% statewide, and 7.3% report holdings above 20 acres, compared with 2.8% statewide. The survey says this shows significantly higher representation in medium and large landholding categories.