Census of India

Decennial census mandated by the 1948 Census of India Act

Census of India

Logo of census of India

Genre| Statistics
Frequency| Decennial
Country| India
Inaugurated| March 1, 1951; 74 years ago (1951-03-01)
Most recent| March 1, 2011; 14 years ago (2011-03-01)
Previous event| 2011 census of India
Next event| 2027 census of India
Activity| Data-gathering, statistical analysis, and dissemination
Organised by| Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India
Website| www.censusindia.gov

The decennial census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1872.[1] Post 1949, it has been conducted by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. All the censuses since 1951 were conducted under the 1948 Census of India Act, which predates the Constitution of India.[2] The 1948 Census of India Act does not bind the Union Government to conduct the census on a particular date or to release its data in a notified period. The last census was held in 2011, whilst the next was to be held in 2021 before it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.[3] The next 16th census will commence from 1st October 2026 for the Himalayan states and 1st March 2027 for rest of the Indian states.

## British Rule

[edit]

This section is an excerpt from Census in British India.[edit]

Cover of Volume 17 of the 1911 census report (fully digitized file) Census in British India refers to the census of India prior to independence which was conducted periodically from 1865 to 1941. The censuses were primarily concerned with administration and faced numerous problems in their design and conduct ranging from the absence of house numbering in hamlets to cultural objections on various grounds to dangers posed by wild animals to census personnel. The sociologist Michael Mann called the census exercise "more telling of the administrative needs of the British than of the social reality for the people of British India".[4] The differences in the nature of Indian society during the British Raj from the value system and the societies of the West were highlighted by the inclusion of "caste", "religion", "profession" and "age" in the data to be collected, as the collection and analysis of that information had a considerable impact on the structure and politics of Indian society.

## Republic of India

[edit]

List of censuses conducted in India after independence:

* 1951 census of India
* 1961 census of India
* 1971 census of India
* 1981 census of India
* 1991 census of India
* 2001 census of India
* 2011 census of India
* 2027 census of India

## See also

[edit]

* Demographics of India
* List of cities in India by population
* List of Indian states and union territories by literacy rate
* List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India
* List of states and union territories of India by population
* List of states and union territories of India by sex ratio
* List of states in India by past population
* List of towns in India by population
* Timeline of Indian history

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sugden, Joanna; Seervai, Shanoor (9 January 2015). "Where Are India's 2011 Census Figures on Religion?". The Wall Street Journal.
2. ^ "The delay in the decennial Census". The Hindu. 9 January 2023.
3. ^ "Explained:The delay in the decennial census". The Hindu. January 9, 2023.
4. ^ Mann (2015), p. 169

### Works cited

[edit]

* Mann, Michael (2015), South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-31762-446-2

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Censuses in India at Wikimedia Commons
* Stamps issued by India Post[usurped]

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Census of India

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Other censuses|

* Indian economic census
* 2011 Socio Economic and Caste Census
* Census of agriculture

See also: Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Demographics of India

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