India
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Final Census caste questionnaire due next week
The Hindu··5 Aug
The final questionnaire for Census 2027's Population Enumeration phase, which will enumerate caste, is likely next week. It will be India's first digital Census and the first since Independence to count caste, with about 28 questions. Self-enumeration begins August 17 in Ladakh and snow-bound areas, with house-to-house work there in September 2026 and elsewhere in February 2027.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Households in Ladakh and snow-bound areas will see early self-enumeration from August 17, ahead of the wider schedule.
- Citizens elsewhere can prepare for house-to-house work from September in those zones and February 2027 elsewhere.
- Anyone who recalls SECC 2011 name sprawl should watch how the final caste question is structured to avoid chaos.
What's Happening
- The final questionnaire for the Census 2027 Population Enumeration phase, which will include caste, is likely next week.
- It will be India's first digital Census and the first since Independence to enumerate caste, with about 28 questions planned.
- PE begins August 17 with self-enumeration in Ladakh and snow-bound areas, house-to-house there from September 1-30 2026, and elsewhere in February 2027.
Why Caste Enumeration Returns After Nearly A Century
- Independent India has not run a full caste census of this kind for decades, making questionnaire design politically and administratively sensitive.
- An open caste column in rehearsal echoed SECC 2011 problems, when about 46 lakh caste name variants flooded the data.
- Digital self-enumeration aims to speed coverage in difficult terrain before nationwide house listing begins.
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