Centre initiates the preparation for delayed census, caste column under consideration: report
Apart from the opposition, many BJP leaders have also accompanied the demand.
The Indian government has started the groundwork of the long-delayed census. TOI reported that the government will soon announce its plans to commence the population count while considering the opposition’s demand for a caste count in the decennial process.
The decennial enumeration was scheduled for 2021, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it got delayed for an indefinite time. Notably, the last census took place in 2011 during the Manmohan Singh government, and the Modi Government is yet to conduct a census, which now seems imminent. “Work on holding the census is already on and a decision in this regard is likely soon,” a senior govt functionary told TOI. “This (caste count) is yet to be decided,” the source added.
Demand for caste census
Several leaders have been vocal about conducting the caste-based census. Apart from the opposition, many BJP leaders have also accompanied the demand. BJP’s allies Janata Dal (United)and JDU have demanded the caste census.
The demands escalated since Bihar CM and JDU leader Nitish Kumar released the findings of a statewide caste survey last year. The findings revealed that over 80 per cent of the state’s population belongs to extremely backward classes. RSS also supported the idea of the Caste census recently, warning that it should not be used for political benefits.
By now, the leader of the opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, has been most expressive about the demand for cast census. He along with his MPs has continuously pointed out the need for a cast census. 1931 was the last time that a census featured a cast column. The government stopped the process after independence.
Digital census
Despite the delay, this census is going to be revolutionary as it is the first digital census that will offer an option of self-numeration. National Population Register (NPR) is mandatory for those who want to complete the census form independently.
As reported earlier, the census will take around 18 months to complete, and the conducting committees, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, which generally leads the census along with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, have prepared a timeline and are aiming to release results by March 2026, covering 15 years from the last census.
The delayed census has garnered rigorous criticism from around the world. The critics believe it negatively affects other statistical surveys, including economic data, inflation, and job estimates.
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