India sets date of population and caste census
India will conduct a census in 2027, its first since 2011, the government said yesterday, which will also count caste -- an accounting not done since the country's independence.
'It has been decided to conduct Population Census-2027 in two phases along with enumeration of castes,' the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
Most of the vast nation will take part in the census on March 1, 2027, but for the high-altitude Himalayan regions, the counting will take place earlier before snow sets in -- on October 1, 2026.
Those areas include the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as in Ladakh, and the contested region of Jammu and Kashmir.
More than two-thirds of India's 1.4 billion people are estimated to be on the lower rungs of a millennia-old social hierarchy that divides Hindus by function and social standing.
The decision to include detailed caste data as part of the next census -- originally due in 2021 -- was approved by a government meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May.
Caste data was last collected as part of the official census exercise in 1931, during British colonial rule that ended with Indian independence 16 years later.
Successive governments have since resisted updating the sensitive demographic data, citing administrative complexity and fears of social unrest.
A caste survey was conducted in 2011 but its results were never made public because they were purportedly inaccurate.
That survey was separate from the 2011 general census, the last time India collected demographic data.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Gulf Insider
US Warns Britain & France Not To Recognize Palestinian State
The US has warned Britain and France against recognizing a Palestinian state at a UN conference later this month, Middle East Eye can reveal. France and Saudi Arabia are set to co-host a major UN conference on the two-state solution beginning on June 17 in New York. France is reportedly gearing up to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at the conference. MEE understands that France has been lobbying Britain to do so as well. French officials believe the British government is onboard with the plan, according to French media. But Washington privately begun to warn Britain and France against unilaterally recognizing Palestine, sources with knowledge of the matter in the British Foreign Office told MEE. At the same time Arab states are urging them to proceed with the move, sources said. In late May, UN member states held consultations in preparation for the conference during which the Arab Group urged states to recognize Palestinian statehood. The Arab Group said they would measure the success of the conference by whether significant states recognize Palestine, Foreign Office sources added. Click here to read more… Source Zero Hedge
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Gulf Insider
US Refuses Air Cover For European 'Reassurance Force' In Postwar Ukraine
The British and French-led effort to establish a 'coalition of the willing' to stand up to Russia and defend Ukraine just hit another major roadblock, as Bloomberg is reporting Wednesday the US has effectively vetoed a plan to provide American air defenses to back a 'reassurance force' for postwar Ukraine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been insisting that US-backed air defenses are key to any future permanent settlement plans for ending the war. Western proposals for ending the war have all featured foreign-backed and monitored security guarantees for Ukraine. On this, Starmer had said back in February that 'There must be a US backstop' and that the 'US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.' After Western billions already sunk into keeping Ukraine's military and civic infrastructure afloat, the UK and France are also seeking from President Trump pledges of future air power, and border surveillance and intelligence. The Europeans also envision a strong, permanent security bulwark backed by the United States along NATO's eastern flank. Yet, President Trump has repeatedly warned allies that if NATO countries don't pay their fair share they won't be protected. This despite European leaders as well as some US politicians expressing recent concern that the Atlantic alliance is becoming weaker than ever, and that Article 5 collective defense is in peril. Trump has lashed out at NATO countries for not even meeting their current two percent spending goal while the unfair burden has long fallen United States. 'We appreciate the work that the allies, particularly France and the United Kingdom together with Germany and others have undertaken to develop the coalition of the willing,' US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said at a press breifing Brussels on Wednesday. 'We are counting on all our European allies to continue taking the leadership position in contributing military resources and providing the political capital to make security guarantees a reality.' All of this comes as it was only on Tuesday that Dutch slapped down a proposal to increase defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), key to NATO's capability targets, in a non-binding motion. Click here to read more…
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Daily Tribune
India sets date of population and caste census
India will conduct a census in 2027, its first since 2011, the government said yesterday, which will also count caste -- an accounting not done since the country's independence. 'It has been decided to conduct Population Census-2027 in two phases along with enumeration of castes,' the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. Most of the vast nation will take part in the census on March 1, 2027, but for the high-altitude Himalayan regions, the counting will take place earlier before snow sets in -- on October 1, 2026. Those areas include the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as in Ladakh, and the contested region of Jammu and Kashmir. More than two-thirds of India's 1.4 billion people are estimated to be on the lower rungs of a millennia-old social hierarchy that divides Hindus by function and social standing. The decision to include detailed caste data as part of the next census -- originally due in 2021 -- was approved by a government meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May. Caste data was last collected as part of the official census exercise in 1931, during British colonial rule that ended with Indian independence 16 years later. Successive governments have since resisted updating the sensitive demographic data, citing administrative complexity and fears of social unrest. A caste survey was conducted in 2011 but its results were never made public because they were purportedly inaccurate. That survey was separate from the 2011 general census, the last time India collected demographic data.
