Together for an Inclusive Census of India

A movement working to empower communities to ensure fair and transparent enumeration in the Census of India through collaborative civic action.

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What is Peoples' Census Watch?

An informal citizen-led platform to bring together individuals, academics, experts, and civil society organisations who share a commitment to ensure that the upcoming round of Census in India accurately represents the realities of marginalised communities including Dalits, Adivasis, Minorities, Denotified and Nomadic Tribes, Homeless, Single Women, Persons with Disabilities, migrant workers, people without houses, landless, nomadic communities, and women among others.

Ensuring Every Voice Counts

Accurate counting of marginalised communities addressing their specific challenges such as residing in remote regions, being at work during daytime when enumerators visit, language barriers.
Adequate measures to reach people with persisting challenges of connectivity and digital literacy to ensure they are not excluded from the fully digital census.
Sensitize enumerators specifically to work with the challenges of marginalised communities living in the areas they are covering.
Call civil society representatives to support the Census process and accompany official enumerators when counting marginalised communities.

Tools for Civic Action

Awareness Material

Resources to communicate and collaborate with like-minded individuals and organizations to strengthen your campaigns and achieve meaningful outcomes.

Letters for Inclusion

Letters to send from communities, networks and any committed individuals calling on Census and other government authorities to ensure accurate inclusion of marginalised communities.

Letter - English Letter - Hindi

State and Community Meetings

Engage with our network to leverage expert insights, ensuring your message resonates and drives effective change.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When is the next Census of India happening?

The census will be conducted in two phases: Phase 1 (House Listing & Housing Census) will happen between April-September 2026, followed by Phase 2 (Population Enumeration), which will end at 00:00 hours March 1, 2027. For the Union Territory of Ladakh and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the population census will end at 00.00 hours of October 1, 2026.

Why does a country do a Census?

Census data determines how government budgets are allocated, political seats are distributed, infrastructure is planned, welfare schemes are designed, and policies are shaped for the next decade. Undercount an area, and it receives less: fewer hospital beds, classrooms, and food grains. Accurate data is the first step in ensuring each community gets its due.

Who is counted in the Census of India?

Census is the count of all people in India, including non-citizen and migrant residents.

How is the Census conducted?

The Census is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, which falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Registrar General is the overall authority responsible for planning, coordination, and supervision. The field work is carried out by state and union territory governments, who deploy enumerators (typically government schoolteachers and other public servants) to visit households and record data.

Is it mandatory to participate in the Census?

Yes, participation in the Indian Census is mandatory by law. Under the Census Act, 1948, every household is legally obligated to provide accurate information to the enumerator. Refusing to answer or giving false information is a punishable offence, carrying a fine. However, in practice, the government has never aggressively prosecuted individuals for non-participation.

Why was the Census delayed from 2021 to 2027?

The Covid-19 pandemic delayed censuses globally, including India's planned count in 2021. While most countries resumed quickly (China, the U.S., and Indonesia completed theirs in 2020, Pakistan in March 2023), the government in India continued to postpone it till 2027 without specifying a reason.

How is Census 2027 different from previous rounds?

It will include caste enumeration for the first time since 1931. It is also India’s first fully digital census, that offers a self-enumeration option online. It will also form the basis of redrawing parliamentary and assembly constituency boundaries based on updated population figures.

What is Caste Census?

A caste census means officially counting how many people belong to each caste group in India. While the Census already counts Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), it has not counted Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and other caste groups since 1931. The government approved its inclusion in Census 2027, making it a politically significant decision. The data will give a clearer picture of caste-based population distribution, which in turn could influence reservation policies, welfare schemes, and political representation across the country.

How will digital census work?

Enumerators will visit households with a mobile app, replacing paper forms entirely. A central portal called CMMS will manage and monitor the entire process, supported by geotagged mapping tools and handheld devices. Activists have urged for robust data security measures, better accessibility for remote and rural populations, and preparedness for system failures – pointing to when systems crash seen in Australia as they did their first digital census in 2016, reaffirming the need for contingency planning in a country of India’s scale.

How is delimitation connected to Census 2027?

The findings of the first census conducted after 2026 are constitutionally mandated to be the basis of a delimitation exercise as per a law passed in 2002. Delimitation will reshape constituencies based on population. Past exercises have gradually increased seat counts, with the last delimitation exercise being carried out in 1973. If the Delimitation Commission compensates for the backlog since the last delimitation, there could be significant changes to the way political constituencies are distributed and have serious implications for India's federal structure.

How is the Census linked to the Women's Reservation Bill?

The Women's Reservation Bill, passed in 2023, reserves 33% of seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies. However, it only kicks in after the next census and a delimitation based on it are completed. Effectively this means that women's reserved seats cannot be allocated until women are counted and constituency boundaries are redrawn using Census 2027 data.

Get in Touch

Have questions, want to collaborate, or need more information about our campaign? We'd love to hear from you.