Beyond SC/ST: Census rehearsal introduces open column to capture caste data

As India prepares for its first digital-only population count, a test run currently underway across 16 states signals a historic shift in how the country records its social identity.

The dusty, bureaucratic rhythm of a national census is undergoing a radical digital transformation. In Faridabad, Haryana, and across 15 other states and Union Territories, enumerators are currently testing a new form that features a significant addition: an "open column" for respondents to record their caste. While the government maintains this is strictly a "pre-test" to evaluate field procedures and digital apps, the inclusion of this column during the second phase of the rehearsal provides the clearest look yet at the methodology for the 2027 population exercise.

For decades, the Indian census has been a standardized affair, tracking migration, economic status, and literacy. However, the 2027 Census marks a departure as the first in independent India to attempt a comprehensive count of all castes, moving beyond the traditional enumeration of only Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Officials involved in the exercise suggest that while SC and ST communities will continue to be recorded via established codes, the open-ended field for other respondents is an attempt to capture the granular complexity of social identity in a digital format.

The mechanics of the count

The logistical scale of this operation is immense. With about 30 lakh enumerators and supervisors deployed, the government is moving toward a tech-first approach. Mobile applications, a dedicated management portal, and a self-enumeration facility are being stress-tested to ensure data integrity. While the primary goal is digital collection, the government has kept a safety valve: in unavoidable circumstances, paper-based forms will be used, with a mandate that the data must be digitized at the charge level.

The timeline for the final questions remains fluid. While the first phase—the House Listing Operation (HLO)—has seen its questions already notified, the specific parameters for the second phase of the census are expected to be finalized by September. This is when the exercise will conclude its trial runs in snowbound regions like Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, providing a blueprint for the national rollout in February 2027.

Why it matters

The move to include an open column in the census rehearsal is more than a technical update; it is an acknowledgment of the intensifying political and social demand for a precise caste count. By testing this in the field now, the government is attempting to preempt the immense operational challenges of categorizing thousands of self-reported identities.

If this methodology holds, the 2027 data will likely redefine the empirical basis for reservation policies and welfare schemes. However, the "open column" also presents a paradox: it provides the flexibility to record any identity, but it will eventually require the government to create a massive, standardized classification system to make the raw data usable for policy-making. Whether this succeeds depends on how the final questionnaire is structured before the enumeration begins in earnest.