Centre Bows to Pressure, Includes Caste in Census for First Time Since 1931

Census 2027 to Shape the Next Era of Reservation and Reform

X: @vivekbhavsar

New Delhi: The Union Government has formally launched the Population Census 2027, releasing an official gazette notification dated June 16, 2025, which outlines the framework and reference dates for the exercise. This will be the first Census to be conducted after a 17-year gap, as the 2021 Census was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Significantly, the 2027 Census will include caste-based enumeration. This politically charged and socially consequential move marks a major shift from previous censuses, where such data was not collected after 1931 (barring the Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011, which was not officially released in full).

According to the notification, the population count will have two key reference dates: March 1, 2027 (00:00 hrs) – applicable to most parts of the country, October 1, 2026 (00:00 hrs) – applicable to snow-bound areas of Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand

The exact commencement dates for both phases will be announced through a subsequent gazette notification.

The decision to include caste enumeration in the Census is expected to have far-reaching political, social, and economic implications.

Until recently, the BJP-led Central Government had maintained a cautious distance from caste-based census demands, citing logistical challenges and the need for social cohesion. However, with states like Bihar, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu carrying out their caste surveys in recent years—and facing significant political mobilisation around these exercises—the Centre appears to have shifted gears to avoid ceding ground to opposition narratives.

The Congress, RJD, JD(U), DMK, and other regional parties have consistently demanded an updated caste census to realign reservation policies and welfare schemes in proportion to present-day demographics. These parties have argued that without caste data, social justice remains incomplete and skewed.

The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 collected vast data but its caste figures were never officially released, citing errors and inconsistencies. Critics saw this as political reluctance to open Pandora’s box on caste dynamics. The 2027 Census may attempt to correct that record by providing official, comprehensive, and usable caste data for policymaking.

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Caste-wise data could serve as the basis for revising reservation quotas, allocating budgetary resources, and shaping affirmative action strategies. This may open up contentious debates on the ‘creamy layer’, sub-categorisation among OBCs, and demands for inclusion/exclusion within caste groupings.

With Lok Sabha elections due in 2029, the timing of the caste census and its results (expected by 2028 or early 2029) may directly influence election manifestos, caste-based coalition strategies, and vote-bank mobilisation.

While the Centre’s acceptance of caste enumeration is seen as a major shift, it also reflects a response to successful regional caste surveys (like Bihar’s in 2023), which have repositioned the demand for caste-based governance at the heart of Indian politics.

After the long delay since 2011 and with the massive scale of enumeration, including caste data, officials face challenges of training, data accuracy, and privacy safeguards.

The government has not yet declared the start date of enumeration, but experts expect it to begin in early or mid-2026 for the snow-bound regions and later that year or early 2027 for the rest of India. The inclusion of caste enumeration will likely require additional budget, enhanced technological infrastructure, and robust safeguards to avoid misuse or politicisation of sensitive data.

In the months to come, debates will intensify over how caste data is collected, who audits it, and how it is used. As India gears up for its most detailed and politically significant census in almost a century, the 2027 exercise promises to be not just a statistical operation, but a transformative moment in the nation’s socio-political landscape.