Census 2027: Ladakh to lead caste enumeration in independent India
Ladakh will lead the caste enumeration process during the upcoming 2027 Census, utilizing a unique paper-based methodology due to security concerns. This marks a significant shift in how demographic data is collected in India.
Why it matters
Caste enumeration is a highly sensitive and significant political issue in India, with implications for social policy and reservation systems.
Ladakh, one of the country’s two youngest Union Territories, is set to lead the way in demonstrating how caste will be enumerated for the first time in independent India. The second phase of the Census—the Population Enumeration (PE)—which starts on August 17 in Ladakh and other snow-bound areas, is likely to ask questions on 40 parameters and provide an open-ended column for caste enumeration.
As reported by The Hindu on July 6, the rehearsal, or the “pre-test” for the PE phase, was conducted from July 1 to 20 in 16 States and Union Territories, where respondents, other than Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, recorded their castes in an “open column”, or the enumerator noted a resident’s caste as declared by them. The methodology is likely to be retained in the final form.
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