Rama Krishna Sangem
India will begin its first ever caste census after Independence from October 2026. This will be taken up along with general census that due since 2021. The delay is due to Covid pandemic. This time census will be done in two phases. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, core part of the Union Cabinet led by PM Narendra Modi took the decision on June 4, Tuesday.
The next census – the exhaustive count of the population of the country, as well as critical socio-economic details – will begin from March 1, 2027, government sources said on Wednesday. However, it will begin early – as early as October 2026 – in snow-bound states and union territories, such as Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
The census will be conducted over these two phases and will contain a significant addition to the long list of questions asked of men and women nationwide – those on caste and sub-castes.
On April 30 the government confirmed questions on caste – i.e., an enumeration of the various castes and sub-castes, and the number of people in each – will be part of the next census.
The decision to include caste enumeration in the census – a demand pressed fiercely by the opposition – was announced months before a critical Assembly election in Bihar, over 63 per cent of the population of which comes from Extremely Backward or Backward classes.
The decision to include caste enumeration in the census – a demand pressed fiercely by the opposition – was announced months before a critical Assembly election in Bihar, over 63 per cent of the population of which comes from Extremely Backward or Backward classes.
Census after 16 years
In India the census is normally conducted every decade. The last national population count was in 2011. The 2021 census had to be abandoned because of the pandemic. The 2027 census, when it is held, will therefore be the first in 16 years.
The opposition has been pushing for a census to be held, arguing it is necessary to have an accurate, up-to-date count of population and socio-economic data for effective policy-making. This round of census will not only reveal the number of people of each caste in the country, but also tell the world that India is the most populous on the planet, overtaking China. By the time the results of the census are actually declared, that will take another 2-3 years, India may have around 150 crore population.
