Modern-day census started in 1881

History of census 

The third century BC treatise of Kautilya, ‘‘Arthashastra’’, which lays down the principles of governance, prescribed the collection of population statistics for taxation purposes. It also has methods of collecting population, agricultural and economic statistics. Extensive records of land, production, population, famines, etc, were also maintained during the Mughal period. Ain-i-Akbari also contains comprehensive data about population, industry, wealth, and so on.

However, with the decline of this great empire and the political chaos in its wake, this tradition of data collection went into disuse. The first modern census was conducted between 1865 and 1872 in different parts of the country in a non-synchronous fashion. The efforts culminated in 1872 and hence the year is dubbed as the year of the first population census in India. A synchronous census started from 1881 and since then there has been no interruption in the exercise conducted once every 10 years.

Importance of census exercise

The census is a statutory exercise conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1945. It is the most credible source of information about demography, literacy, standards of living, urbanization, languages spoken, fertility, mortality and various other economic and socio-cultural aspects of the country, which underscores its importance for any government. It is also the only source of primary data at village, town and ward level. The delimitation or reservation of constituencies is also done on the basis of census data.

A census also provides the parameters for reviewing the country’s progress and helps the government in assessing the impact of ongoing schemes. The information it provides is crucial for planning and formulation of polices. Census data is also widely used by nongovernment agencies, scholars, business people and journalists. The census process involves collecting data in census form by visiting every house. The data processing is done by Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) software, which scans the forms and automatically extracts the data.

Debate over the caste census

In all the censuses conducted from 1941, census enumerators collect caste data only for castes and tribes listed in the schedules to Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution — hence, the only castes pertaining to which data is compiled are the SCs and STs. As a result, there is no authentic data for other castes, including the OBC category. Estimates for these are made either by extrapolation of the 1931 figures or by sampling surveys, both of which are not reliable for obvious reasons.

There is, thus, a strong demand from many that data should be collected on other castes as well, particularly now when government policy provides for reservations for OBCs. Those against a caste census argue that it will increase casteism and widen the caste divide (ignoring the fact that 80 years of not having caste censuses has not made the institution disappear). They also point out that unlike brahmins, who have an all-India presence, most other castes are localised and hence it would be difficult to aggregate the other castes to get a true picture of the OBC population.

Changes in Census 2011

In the 15th census, officials will also record access to new age technologies like mobile phones, computers and internet connections. Also, for the first time, a comprehensive database of all the usual residents of the country will be made. The database will be known as the National Population Register (NPR) and is estimated to cost over Rs 3,500 crore. The NPR will include information like name, sex, education and occupation of every usual resident of the country.

The database will also contain photographs and finger biometry of persons above the age of 15 years. After the finalization of the database, every individual will be assigned a Unique Identification Number (UID) and an identity card containing basic details will be issued. Although both processes are carried out together, the NPR is different from the census because unlike the census, which requires a particular manpower for a limited period of time the NPR is a continuous process and the database will be regularly upgraded.

After Census 2011, citizens of India will be assigned UID

(source is times of india)