In 1910, Edward Albert Gait , the Census Commissioner for India, issued a highly significant circular ahead of the 1911 Census . This circular was a watershed moment in the history of Indian social and political classification, as it was the first formal attempt by the British Raj to distinguish "Untouchables" (now Dalits/Scheduled Castes) as a group separate from the "Hindu" majority. The Objective of the Circular The primary goal of the circular was to identify and group together castes that were traditionally included under the "Hindu" umbrella but did not adhere to standard Brahminical or orthodox Hindu practices. Gait proposed ten tests to determine if a community was truly "Hindu" in the orthodox sense. The 10 Tests (Questions) in the Circular Gait asked provincial superintendents to report on castes and tribes that satisfied any of the following conditions: Denial of Brahminical Supremacy: Castes that did not acknowledge the religious s...