New Delhi [India], June 17 (HBTV): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday issued a gazette notification declaring that the population census will be conducted in two phases.
According to the notification, the census will be carried out in the snow-bound, non-synchronous areas of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand starting from October 2026, while the rest of the country will be covered from March 2027.
‘The reference date for the census shall be March 1, 2027, except for the Union Territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand,’ the notification stated. It added that for these specific areas, the reference date would be October 1, 2026.
Congress General Secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh criticised the notification, highlighting the absence of any mention of caste enumeration. ‘Has the Prime Minister changed his mind?’ he asked, referring to the omission of caste data from the census notification.
He further pointed to the insufficient budget allocation for the exercise. ‘It will take at least INR 9,000 crore to INR 10,000 crore by the government’s own admission to carry out a normal census. The total allocation for the census commissioner for 2025–26 is only INR 575 crore. So where is the additional money?’ he questioned.
Ramesh also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of opposing the caste census in the past. ‘The Prime Minister has consistently opposed the caste census. On April 28, 2024, he called all those wanting a caste census “urban naxals”. On September 21, 2021, the government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying they were against a caste census and had no intention of conducting one,’ he said.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate echoed these concerns, stating that the notification failed to mention the caste census despite the government's earlier commitments. ‘This is a routine notification. There is no mention of the caste census here, a promise that the government said would be fulfilled on April 30,’ she said.
Shrinate further argued that the BJP had historically opposed measures for SC/ST and OBC communities. ‘BJP should be the last one talking about the SC/ST and OBC as they have historically been against the Constitution. Pt. Nehru brought the first amendment to the Constitution about reservation, but it was opposed by Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee. RSS Chiefs opposed the reservations. This government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in September 2021 saying we are against the caste census,’ she said.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders welcomed the notification and affirmed that caste enumeration would be included. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy described the move as a ‘historic step’, saying, ‘There will also be a caste census; it is a very big decision. After this, be it welfare activity, scheme, budget allocation, political reservation—everything will be worked upon in a proper manner.’
Haryana Minister Anil Vij said the state was ‘fully prepared’ for the census. ‘Our government is fully prepared... from the states to the Centre, the Prime Minister has already held a meeting. Our Chief Minister has also held a meeting regarding this,’ he said.
Odisha Minister Prithviraj Harichandan noted that the census had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and welcomed the resumption. ‘It is a matter of happiness for everyone that the notification has been issued... now the plan for developing Odisha and developing India will be made smoothly,’ he said.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar also welcomed the move, stating, ‘Census will start from March 1, 2027. It will help the government in planning for the future.’
On April 30, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had announced that the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs had decided to include caste enumeration in the general census.
The INDIA bloc, which had been consistently demanding a caste census, welcomed the move but insisted it should be conducted in a ‘transparent and unbiased’ manner.
(ANI)