1968 Socio-Economic Survey of Kerala
In 1968, the Communist government under E. M. S. Namboodiripad ordered a socio-economic survey of each resident in the state of Kerala, to assess caste inequalities. Until the census of 2011, this survey was the only caste-based count conducted in post-independence India. The survey was not very conclusive, since it merged several unrelated castes in to one group (for example, Ambalavasis and Tamil Brahmins were grouped along with Malayali Brahmins).
The survey found that individuals belonging to higher castes possessed more land and had relatively higher per capita income as compared to the general population. The survey found that 33% of the states population was forward caste, almost half of whom were Syrian Christians. According to the survey, 13% of the Brahmins, 6.8% of the Syrian Catholics, 5.4% of the Jacobites and 4.7% of the Nairs owned more than 5 acres of land. This compared with 1.4% of the Ezhavas, 1.9% of the Muslims and 0.1% of the Scheduled Castes who had that much land in their possession.
| Caste | Population | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Brahmin | 353,329 | 1.76% |
| Nair | 2,905,775 | 14.46% |
| Nair Inferior | 435,396 | 2.17% |
| Kammalar | 756,178 | 3.76% |
| Vellalar / Chetty | 151,150 | 0.75% |
| Izhava / Nadar | 4,457,808 | 22.19% |
| Kaniyan / Arayan / Mukkuvan | 851,603 | 4.24% |
| Scheduled Castes | 1,578,115 | 7.85% |
| Ezhuthachan / Maravan | 260,042 | 1.29% |
| Syrian Christian (Nasrani) | 3,214,278 | 16.00% |
| Latin Catholic & Anglo – Indian | 731,207 | 3.64% |
| Christian Scheduled Caste | 301,912 | 1.50% |
| Muslim | 3,842,322 | 19.12% |
| Scheduled Tribe | 253,519 | 1.26% |
| Total | 20,092,634 | 100.00% |
The last comprehensive caste census of Kerala was undertaken by the British in 1931 (the Census of 1941 also asked caste, but the tables were never published).
| Caste | Population (1931) | Percentage (1931) |
|---|---|---|
| Malayali Brahmin | 50,240 | 0.51% |
| Foreign Brahmin | 121,748 | 1.24% |
| Ambalavasi Brahmin | 39,371 | 0.40% |
| Samanta Kshatriya | 5,901 | 0.06% |
| Samanthan Nair | 4,921 | 0.05% |
| Nair | 1,505,929 | 15.30% |
| Vilakkithala Nair | 35,199 | 0.36% |
| Veluthedath Nair | 22,219 | 0.23% |
| Kammalar | 265,752 | 2.70% |
| Vellalar | 88,584 | 0.90% |
| Chetty | 49,213 | 0.50% |
| Izhava + Thiyya | 2,007,901 | 20.40% |
| Kaniyar | 39,371 | 0.40% |
| Mukkuvar + Arayar | 88,584 | 0.90% |
| Parayar | 165,656 | 1.68% |
| Pulayar + Cherumar | 678,387 | 6.89% |
| Kuravan | 95,295 | 0.97% |
| Thandan | 41,214 | 0.42% |
| Nadar | 402,555 | 4.09% |
| Syrian Christian | 1,197,553 | 12.17% |
| Non-Syrian Christian | 807,686 | 8.21% |
| Muslim | 1,604,629 | 16.30% |
| Total | 9,842,650 |
Read more about this topic: Ethnic Groups In Kerala
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