Now Reading: Ladakh to lead Census 2027 with open-ended caste enumeration
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Ladakh to lead Census 2027 with open-ended caste enumeration
Ladakh will become the first part of independent India to enumerate caste in the Census, beginning August 17. The population enumeration phase, starting in snow-bound areas, will use an open-ended column where…
The Story in Brief
Ladakh will become the first part of independent India to enumerate caste in the Census, beginning August 17. The population enumeration phase, starting in snow-bound areas, will use an open-ended column where respondents declare their caste. The questionnaire covers about 40 parameters. Pre-tests in 16 states since July 6 have also used this method.
The 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census, a survey without statutory backing, returned over 46 lakh different caste names, which the centre later called error-ridden. Unlike that survey, the Census 2027 enumeration has legal force. Master trainers in Ladakh have been trained on tentative questions, and paper schedules will be used for defence structures along the Line of Actual Control that cannot be geo-tagged.
The Indian Opinion
The open-column method sounds democratic but risks repeating the 2011 SECC disaster, 46 lakh caste names rendered useless. The government has called that data unreliable, yet it now plans the same approach for a statutory Census. The pre-test in 16 states must yield a clear answer: can an open column ever produce coherent data, or will the enumerator's handheld device need a curated list of castes and sub-castes, as Bihar's survey showed? The final methodology, due soon, will settle this.
Sources (2): thehindu.com, thehindu.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
