Ladakh, one of many nation’s two youngest Union Territories, is about to cleared the path in demonstrating how caste will be enumerated for the primary time in Unbiased India. The second section of the Census—the Inhabitants Enumeration (PE)—which begins on August 17 in Ladakh and different snow-bound areas, is more likely to ask questions on 40 parameters and supply an open-ended column for caste enumeration.
Open-column methodology
As reported by The Hindu on July 6, the rehearsal, or the “pre-test” for the PE section, was performed from July 1 to twenty in 16 States and Union Territories, the place respondents, aside from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, recorded their castes in an “open column”, or the enumerator famous a resident’s caste as declared by them. The methodology is more likely to be retained within the ultimate kind.
Whereas the continuing Census is India’s first digital Census, officers are making an exception for Ladakh by printing a ample variety of paper schedules. The transfer takes under consideration the presence of enormous defence institutions within the area bordering China and Pakistan, whose areas can’t be geo-tagged due to safety considerations. The digital Census mandatorily requires enumerators to geo-locate the buildings on a cell App. Respondents who self-enumerate on Census portal are additionally required to do the identical.
Although the questionnaire or the schedule is but to be notified by the Registrar Normal and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI), preparations have begun in Ladakh and snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to conduct Inhabitants Enumeration—the second section of Census—from August 17-September 30, forward of the remainder of the nation, the place the train will likely be performed in February 2027.
The Directorate of Census Operations, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, has concluded a three-day Grasp Trainers’ Coaching Programme for Census 2027 inhabitants enumeration, marking the subsequent section of subject preparedness forward of operations scheduled to start on August 17 with the self-enumeration section.
In accordance with Chief Principal Census Officer Amit Sharma, the three-day programme offered complete coaching on all elements of Census 2027 inhabitants enumeration, masking census ideas, caste and demographic knowledge assortment, digital instruments, self-enumeration, interviewing strategies and hands-on use of the cell software.
Ladakh’s case is peculiar because it was not among the many 16 States and UTs the place a “pre-test” or rehearsal of the inquiries to be requested throughout the second section, was held in July.
A senior authorities official stated that, within the absence of the pre-test, the master-trainers are being educated primarily based on tentative questions, round 40, that are more likely to be notified this week.
“The broad contours have been conveyed to us. This time the questions are descriptive and also will embody caste. The caste column will likely be open-ended, and enumerators will file the identify of the caste as offered by the respondent,” stated the official.
The official added that for the reason that Census envisages counting all buildings and buildings, enumerators are being advised to train warning and file defence buildings alongside the Line of Precise Management (LAC) as “particular expenses” on paper schedules.
The open-column methodology had resulted within the 2011 Socio-Financial Caste Census (SECC) returning over 46 lakh totally different “caste names”, largely owing to the variations in what individuals perceive by caste. Considerably, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led authorities has constantly maintained during the last decade that the 2011 SECC’s caste knowledge was unreliable due to “errors” in knowledge assortment.
The full variety of castes recorded throughout the 1931 Census was 4,147. The SECC was performed as a survey and was exterior the purview of the Census Act, 1948, and had no statutory backing. The info was by no means launched by the federal government.
On August 3, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India notified in the gazette of India that “the conduct of Census of the inhabitants shall be undertaken within the Union territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, from 1st September, 2026 to thirtieth September, 2026 with a revisional spherical from 1 October, 2026 to fifth October, 2026”.
An possibility for self-enumeration will likely be obtainable from August 17 to 31, earlier than the beginning of house-to-house inhabitants enumeration, the notification stated.
Revealed – August 09, 2026 10:28 pm IST
