Introductory Memo
India’s population census, which is conducted every ten years for over 150 years, is a rigorous counting activity, stretched across the length and breadth of the nation. The questions asked to the citizens have kept on evolving over the years. They reflect how the government views and understands its citizens at different points in time. These changes reveal the shifting priorities of countries, a trajectory marked with control during colonial rule, followed by development in the post-independence era, and now data-driven governance in the most recent time. In many ways, the evolution of census questions narrates the story of how the relationship between the government and citizens has transformed over time. With this Info-Pack, let us deep dive into this interesting aspect of the Census.
Here’s a quick glimpse of all the questionnaires for Census carried out in India till date. Also, considering the depth of the subject, let's take the dive in two phases, distinguished by pre- and post- independence.