A caste census initiative by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has ignited public anger due to its chaotic and insensitive execution. Launched on 23rd June, 2025, the survey aims to collect data on 101 Scheduled Caste (SC) communities across the city’s eight zones. However, the civic body’s method – slapping QR-coded stickers to mark SC households – has backfired spectacularly, becoming a symbol of shoddy administration rather than effective data collection.
“The enumerators aren’t going to the homes, but merely pasting stickers declaring that the enumeration exercise has been completed. It’s a government-sponsored scam,” wrote Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka on ‘X’.
Residents across Bengaluru report waking up to find stickers indiscriminately plastered on their doors, gates, parked vehicles like scooters, and even tea stalls, often without any prior interaction or verification. This has drawn widespread ridicule on social media, with users sarcastically asking for the “caste” of a Honda Activa scooter adorned with a sticker.
The core grievance is the complete bypassing of the mandated process: BBMP surveyors were supposed to visit homes, verify details, collect self-declaration forms, and then place a sticker. Instead, many citizens were never consulted.
#Karnataka caste survey that never was…
— Nabila Jamal (@nabilajamal_) July 3, 2025
Bengaluru's caste census turns into a farce.. residents find "survey completed" stickers on their doors, without a single question being asked by surveyors. Vacant homes had those stickers. What a sham! So much money spent again for… pic.twitter.com/umS7TqD9wA
Nagarbhavi resident Prabudh Shetty confronted officials who falsely claimed the survey was completed a month prior, despite his family being constantly present. In Kasturinagar, Nirvigna KS faced property damage as a sticker was affixed with industrial glue, leaving stubborn stains, again without explanation. Smitha Ranganath discovered a sticker had suddenly appeared on her back gate without any household member being surveyed.
BBMP Special Commissioner (Welfare) Suralkar Vikas Kishore acknowledged the “poor job” done by some enumerators and gaps in execution, promising “stringent action” and clarifying that a sticker doesn’t equate to a completed survey. He also noted areas unlikely to have SC households were being skipped.
Despite the criticism and resident complaints, BBMP claims the drive is progressing well, stating over 1.8 lakh SC households (identifying 6.7 lakh individuals) and 32 lakh general households have been covered so far. They advise citizens who missed the door-to-door survey to scan the QR code on the sticker to complete the form online or visit ward offices and Bengaluru One Centres. For those finding stickers without interaction, BBMP urges calling the helpline (9481359000) to request a proper survey. However, for many Bengalureans, the sticker campaign has already left a bitter aftertaste, undermining trust in the crucial census effort.
