British census counted Untouchables as Hindu, making their defection numerically threatening.

Evidence

Although some European states had begun to develop demographic tools to better understand their populations by this time, the British were creating a more thorough and expansive census for its Indian territories than they exercised at home. The first all-India census (1872) and the several city and provincial counts that preceded it each required those polled to give their religion. The resulting numbers alarmed Britons because the population of Muslims exceeded their expectations. — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear, 90 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Hindus disputed Untouchable population figures to protect their own political representation — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 505; Ambedkar declared he had no homeland because Untouchables could not be proud of India; Britain’s Indian census counted religion more thoroughly than its own census. — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear:…, 90 (+4 more)

Related

• Britain’s Indian census counted religion more thoroughly than its own census. (similarity 0.88)
• British census categories froze caste hierarchies and made Untouchable defection a demographic catastrophe (similarity 0.86)
• Hindus disputed Untouchable population figures to protect their own political representation (similarity 0.85)
• British census classification hardened caste ranks and made Hindu demographic decline politically charged. (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• Caste Hindus sought to deny Untouchables the choice that choice confers power. #corroborates (0.45)
• Britain’s Indian census counted religion more thoroughly than its own census. #expands (0.40) — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear, 90
• Caste explains Hindu neglect that risks aborigines converting to rival faiths. #corroborates (0.35)
• Hindu revivalists proselytised Untouchables to retain them in subordination. #contradicts (0.30)
• Gandhi’s renaming of Untouchables as Harijans re-anchored them to the Hindu faith. #corroborates (0.30) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 399