Infirmities to caste-tech: How Census questions have changed since 1872

The evolution of India's Census questions over 150 years reflects the state's shifting priorities, from caste and infirmities to migration, fertility and tech-driven caste data

The 1872 House Register, the precursor to the first full-fledged Census in 1881, had 17 questions to which responses were sought. These were whittled down to 13 for the subsequent Census.

 

For the 1881 Census, data were collected for questions on religion, caste, mother tongue, “occupation of men, also of boys and females who may do work”, and whether the respondent received education “under instruction”, or was “not under instruction but able to read and write”, or was illiterate. It also tabulated “infirmities”, including whether someone was of “unsound mind” or was a “leper”.

 

Apart from asking the religion of