India Counts Castes in 2027 Census Dash!
New Delhi: India will conduct its Population Census-2027 in two phases, incorporating a historic enumeration of castes, the government announced today. The census will use a reference date of 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027, for most regions, while the Union Territory of Ladakh and snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand will have a reference date of 00:00 hours on 1 October 2026 due to their unique climatic conditions. The Union Home Ministry stated today that the official notification, as mandated by Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948, is expected in the gazette on June 16, 2025.
Modelled on the 2011 census, the exercise will include two phases: House Listing Operations and Population Enumeration. The 2011 census ran from April 1 to September 30, 2010, for house listing and from February 9 to February 28, 2011, for population enumeration, using March 1, 2011, as the reference date, except for snow-bound areas where October 1, 2010, applied.
The 2021 census, planned for April-September 2020 and February 2021, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic despite completed preparations in some states and Union Territories.
The inclusion of caste enumeration in 2027, a first since the 1931 census under British rule, will expand beyond the usual data collection for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Approved by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on 30 April 2025, the caste census has sparked heated debate. Supporters, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar, argue it will address socio-economic inequalities by informing targeted welfare policies and refining reservation quotas for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Bihar’s 2023 caste survey, which showed OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) forming over 63% of its population, has bolstered demands for updated national data to guide policy.
Incidentally, Union Home Minister Amit Shah opposed caste enumeration in 2021, citing risks of social unrest and political misuse. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a key Bharatiya Janata Party ideological ally, expressed concerns through its mouthpiece, Organiser, warning that caste data could entrench divisions and undermine social cohesion, a view echoed by sociologist Dipankar Gupta. Gupta argues that reinforcing caste identities contradicts Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision of a casteless society.
Significantly, the RSS has cautiously endorsed the census, urging safeguards against political exploitation. Besides, experts like former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi have called for transparent data collection to prevent misuse. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s upper-caste supporters in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have expressed fears that the caste census may fuel demands for higher OBC reservations, diluting their political influence.
The 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), costing ₹4,893.60 crore, faced criticism from former NITI Aayog CEO Arvind Panagariya for unreliable data due to methodological flaws, raising concerns about the 2027 exercise’s accuracy.
Set to be India’s first digital census using mobile apps and online portals, the 2027 exercise will also inform delimitation and women’s reservation policies. With India’s population estimated at 1.46 billion in 2025, the census could reshape governance, provided it balances social justice with national unity.
– global bihari bureau
