Leh: Ladakh will become the first region to demonstrate the methodology for caste enumeration under Census 2027, with the population enumeration phase beginning in the Union Territory on August 17.
Ladakh is set to play a significant role in Census 2027 as India prepares to undertake caste enumeration for the first time since Independence as part of the decennial Census. The second phase of the exercise, known as Population Enumeration (PE), will begin in Ladakh and other snow-bound areas on August 17, months ahead of the nationwide exercise scheduled for February 2027.
The Census questionnaire is expected to contain around 40 questions covering demographic and other details, with an open-ended column for caste. Although the final schedule is yet to be formally notified by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, officials have begun preparations based on the tentative questionnaire.
Under the proposed methodology, respondents will state their caste and enumerators will record it as declared, rather than selecting from a predetermined list. The approach was tested during a pre-test conducted from July 1 to 20 across 16 States and Union Territories and is expected to be retained for the final enumeration.
The methodology is significant because the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC), which also used an open-ended approach, recorded more than 46 lakh distinct caste names. Officials have attributed the unusually high number partly to differences in how respondents understood and reported caste. The Narendra Modi government has previously questioned the reliability of the 2011 caste data, citing errors in collection. Unlike the decennial Census, the SECC was conducted as a survey outside the framework of the Census Act, 1948, and its caste data was never officially released.
Ladakh will also receive special treatment because of security considerations. While Census 2027 is India’s first digital Census and ordinarily requires enumerators to geo-locate buildings and structures through a mobile application, paper schedules will be used for certain areas in Ladakh. Defence establishments, particularly those located along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), cannot be geo-tagged due to security concerns. Enumerators have therefore been instructed to record such structures as “special charges” on paper schedules.
Ladakh was not included among the 16 States and Union Territories where the July pre-test was conducted. Consequently, master trainers are being trained using the tentative questionnaire and guidelines.
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner notified on August 3 that Population Enumeration in Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will take place from September 1 to 30, 2026, followed by a revisional round from October 1 to 5. Self-enumeration will be available from August 17 to 31.
The exercise will provide a crucial test of how caste data is collected and standardised in the first Census of independent India to formally include caste enumeration.
