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Who the SC list leaves out: 201.4 million SCs counted, all Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist

Who is left out of the Scheduled Castes by the religion rule, and what does the official record count?

By The Dalit ProjectUPDATED OCTOBER 9, 2026

Key takeaways

Under the 1950 Order, SCs are Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist; Census 2011 counted 201.4 million SCs and none of any other religion. Exhibit 1
Of the SCs counted, 94.2% were Hindu, 3.0% Sikh and 2.9% Buddhist. Exhibit 2
Punjab holds 90.5% of SCs counted Sikh, and Maharashtra 90.4% of those counted Buddhist. Exhibit 3
10 castes in 6 States account for 88.0% of the 11.7 million SCs counted Sikh or Buddhist. Exhibit 4

Scheduled Caste people counted in Census 2011 in each of the 31 States and Union Territories (UTs) with an SC list, by the religion they professed, and by caste, from the Census’s Table SC-14; and the rule in paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, that limits who can be a member of a Scheduled Caste to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.

SCs counted in Census 2011, every one Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist: 201.4 million
of SCs counted Sikh or Buddhist, 2011: 5.8%
official count of Christians or Muslims from castes on the SC lists: None

Exhibit 1

Only Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists can be Scheduled Castes, so the 2011 Census counted 201.4 million SCs and none of any other religion

Who may be a member of a Scheduled Caste under paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and the SCs Census 2011 counted, persons, India.

Religion professed	May be a member of a Scheduled Caste	SCs counted, 2011persons
Hindu	Yes	189,667,132
Sikh	Yes	5,953,664
Buddhist	Yes, since Act 15 of 1990	5,757,576
Any other, Christian and Muslim included	No	not counted

Note: Paragraph 3 reads: “no person who professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste.” Its present wording was put in by Parliament’s Act 63 of 1956, and Buddhists were added by Parliament’s Act 15 of 1990.

Source: The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, paragraph 3, as amended, in the copy published by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, Census of India 2011, Table SC-14, “Scheduled Caste population by religious community”, 31 State and UT files. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026.

Exhibit 2
Of the 201.4 million SCs counted in 2011, 94.2% were Hindu, 3.0% Sikh and 2.9% Buddhist
SCs counted in each religion as a share of all SCs counted, %, India, Census 2011, in the order paragraph 3 of the 1950 Order names them.
Bars: Hindu 94.2%, Sikh 3.0%, Buddhist 2.9%; any other religion not counted.
1. Hindu94.2%
2. Sikh3.0%
3. Buddhist2.9%
4. Any other religionNot counted: the 1950 Order allows no SC of another religion
Note: The Census asks whether a person belongs to a Scheduled Caste only of Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, following paragraph 3 of the 1950 Order. No official count exists of Christians or Muslims whose families come from castes on the SC lists.
Source: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, Census of India 2011, Table SC-14, “Scheduled Caste population by religious community”, 31 State and UT files. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026.
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Exhibit 3

Punjab holds 90.5% of SCs counted Sikh, and Maharashtra 90.4% of those counted Buddhist; in most States nearly all SCs were counted Hindu

SCs counted in each State and UT, persons, and the share counted in each religion, %, Census 2011, in the Census’s State order. States and UTs as they stood in 2011.

State/UT	SCs countedpersons	Hindu	Sikh	Buddhist
Jammu & Kashmir	924,991	98.8%	1.2%	0.0%
Himachal Pradesh	1,729,252	98.9%	0.9%	0.2%
Punjab	8,860,179	38.9%	60.8%	0.3%
Chandigarh	199,086	88.5%	11.4%	0.1%
Uttarakhand	1,892,516	99.5%	0.4%	0.0%
Haryana	5,113,615	96.0%	4.0%	0.0%
National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi	2,812,309	98.9%	0.9%	0.2%
Rajasthan	12,221,593	98.2%	1.8%	0.1%
Uttar Pradesh	41,357,608	99.6%	0.1%	0.3%
Bihar	16,567,325	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Sikkim	28,275	99.1%	0.1%	0.9%
Manipur	97,328	99.9%	0.0%	0.1%
Mizoram	1,218	90.5%	0.7%	8.8%
Tripura	654,918	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Meghalaya	17,355	96.3%	3.0%	0.6%
Assam	2,231,321	99.9%	0.1%	0.0%
West Bengal	21,463,270	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Jharkhand	3,985,644	99.9%	0.0%	0.0%
Odisha	7,188,463	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Chhattisgarh	3,274,269	98.0%	0.0%	2.0%
Madhya Pradesh	11,342,320	98.2%	0.0%	1.8%
Gujarat	4,074,447	99.7%	0.0%	0.3%
Daman & Diu	6,124	99.3%	<5	hidden
Dadra & Nagar Haveli	6,186	97.8%	0.0%	2.2%
Maharashtra	13,275,898	60.7%	0.1%	39.2%
Andhra Pradesh	13,878,078	99.8%	0.0%	0.2%
Karnataka	10,474,992	99.5%	0.0%	0.5%
Goa	25,449	99.3%	0.0%	0.7%
Kerala	3,039,573	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Tamil Nadu	14,438,445	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Puducherry	196,325	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%

Shading, Sikh and Buddhist:Under 25%25% to under 50%50% to under 75%75% and over

Note: “<5” means 1 to 4 people, given as no share so that a small count cannot point to the people behind it; where one cell in a row is hidden, the next smallest is hidden with it (“hidden”), in Daman & Diu. The Census publishes no SC-14 table for the States and UTs missing here.

Source: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, Census of India 2011, Table SC-14, “Scheduled Caste population by religious community”, 31 State and UT files. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026.

Exhibit 4

10 castes in 6 States account for 88.0% of the 11.7 million SCs counted Sikh or Buddhist

Castes with 100,000 or more members counted Sikh or Buddhist: all members counted, and those counted Sikh and Buddhist, persons, Census 2011, by State in the Census’s order and by caste in each State list’s order.

Caste, as listed	State	Members countedpersons	Sikhpersons	Buddhistpersons
Ad Dharmi	Punjab	1,017,192	86,067	18,778
Balmiki, Chuhra, Bhangi	Punjab	866,953	207,650	1,588
Chamar, Jatia Chamar, Rehgar, Raigar, Ramdasi, Ravidasi, Ramdasia, Ramdasia Sikh, Ravidasia, Ravidasia Sikh	Punjab	2,078,132	1,443,079	5,896
Mazhabi, Mazhabi Sikh	Punjab	2,633,921	2,562,761	160
Mahatam, Rai Sikh	Punjab	516,695	465,764	30
Mazhabi, Mazhabi Sikh	Haryana	141,681	130,162	34
Majhabi	Rajasthan	158,698	147,108	8
Chamar, Dhusia, Jhusia, Jatava	Uttar Pradesh	22,496,047	10,930	113,765
Mahar, Mehra, Mehar, Mahara	Madhya Pradesh	819,416	320	160,622
Mahar, Mehra, Taral, Dhegu Megu	Maharashtra	8,006,060	8,081	4,943,821

Note: Castes are named as each State’s list names them; the same caste may be listed under different names in different States. The Census’s own line “Generic Castes etc.”, which is not a caste on any list, is left out. A count of 1 to 4 people reads “<5”.

What’s next

The next update

We will update these figures on release of the Census 2027 Scheduled Caste tables. This is version 1.0.0.

What the data can’t tell us yet

How many Christians or Muslims come from castes on the SC lists: no official count exists, because the 1950 Order bars them from the Scheduled Castes and the Census does not ask them.

What you can do

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About this data

What this shows: How the Scheduled Caste people counted in Census 2011 split between Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, in each State and UT and by caste.
Source: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (Ministry of Home Affairs); Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, 2 documents, SC-14. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026. Every source
What it does not show: How many Christians or Muslims come from castes on the SC lists: no official count exists, because the 1950 Order bars them from the Scheduled Castes and the Census does not ask them.
Last updated: 9 Oct 2026 · Next expected update: on release of the Census 2027 Scheduled Caste tables
Corrections: Changelog (version 1.0.0) · Corrections policy

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