Census 2027 questionnaire seeks parents’ religion, place of birth up to village level
The Indian government has introduced a new, expanded questionnaire for the 2027 Census, which now includes mandatory fields for caste, religion, and detailed parental information. This marks the first time India will conduct a comprehensive caste enumeration as part of its national population survey.
Why it matters
The inclusion of caste data is a highly sensitive political issue in India that could significantly influence future affirmative action policies and electoral strategies.
The questionnaire or the schedule for the population enumeration phase of Census 2027, which has gone live in Ladakh and snow-bound areas of three other States ahead of the rest of the country, seeks information on religion, date of birth and place of birth up to the village level of both the father and mother, according to the questions seen by The Hindu .
Under the data head “Family Particulars,” the questionnaire also has an option to record the place of birth of the father and mother if they were born outside India. Other than the six religions—Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim and Jain—respondents can record “other religion” in a separate column.
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