Census of India 2027 Phase I for Nagaland, involving houselisting through door-to-door survey has begun.
With the 15-day self-enumeration window for Census 2027 in Nagaland coming to a close, the gate for the door-to-door demographic survey has been opened. In the first phase of the census involving houselisting, which to be conducted from July 1 to the 30th, details such as building numbers, house conditions, availability of amenities like drinking water, toilets, and electricity, and household assets will be gathered. Phase II of the census or population enumeration is scheduled to take place from February 1, 2027, to February 28 across the country, except for the Union Territory of Ladakh, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, which will be done a few months early. In the second and last phase, individual socio-economic details, including marital status, education, migration, fertility, occupation, etc., will be collected. Notably, for the first time since 1931, caste enumeration will be included.
Conducting the Census of India is, no doubt, a mammoth task, given the size of the country and sheer scale of counting and documenting over 1.4 billion people across 28 states and 8 union territories. From use of specialised mobile applications to mobilising millions of field functionaries for data collection on the ground, this survey requires immense planning and resources—logistics, manpower, technology and funding. The Union Cabinet has approved a financial outlay of INR 11,718.24 crore for this purpose. Skipping such an exercise can have severe and long-lasting consequences for any country, as it serves as a fundamental tool for effective governance. India may have inadvertently deprived millions of potential beneficiaries over the past decade by relying on outdated 2011 census data. The unprecedented postponement of the decennial census, originally due in 2021, drew significant criticism from opposition parties and critics against the Modi government. Now that this critical exercise has begun, active and accurate participation from citizens is essential. This will enable the government to frame targeted welfare schemes and ensure equitable distribution of public funds and fair allocation of welfare programmes.
Well, Nagaland’s abnormal population fluctuations, as recorded in the last three censuses, present a persistent paradox. The state registered a 56.08 per cent growth rate between 1981 and 1991, followed by a 64.53 per cent increase in the subsequent decadal survey, before declining by 0.58 per cent in the 2011 census. These figures lend credence to allegations of multiple entries being used to inflate electoral roll populations. The critical question now is whether the people of Nagaland will provide accurate details for Census 2027 or repeat the past mistake by inflating the population through multiple registrations.
The only correct approach is to register once – either in one’s ancestral village or current place of settlement – and provide accurate information. Manipulating census data not only hinders development planning and resource allocation but also deprives deserving citizens of their constitutional and democratic rights. It is imperative to break the cycle of corruption and malpractices for political gain.