Census 2027 trainers flag Aadhaar, caste and parents’ birthplace queries

Training sessions for Census enumerators in Uttar Pradesh and three other poll-bound States are focusing on some of the most sensitive questions in the exercise, including new queries on Aadhaar, caste, age and the birthplace of parents, ahead of door-to-door enumeration from December 1 for the second phase of Census 2027.

At a session in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, a field trainer explained why Question 37, which asks for the respondent’s Aadhaar number, needs careful handling. Enumerators, mostly school teachers, were told that if a respondent objects, they should explain that the question only seeks to find out how many people have Aadhaar. “They are to be told clearly that we are not seeking their bank account details and Aadhaar cannot be used without biometrics anyway,” the trainer said. More than 50 enumerators attended the session.

The session was one of hundreds being held across Uttar Pradesh and three other poll-bound States before the second phase of enumeration begins on December 1. The rest of the country will undergo the same exercise in February 2027. The population enumeration phase involves 40 questions, and enumerators must spend at least 20 to 25 minutes with each respondent, unlike the first houselisting phase, which took only a few minutes per household. Each enumeration block comprises around 750 to 800 people.

At one session observed by this publication, the precise location of which has been withheld to protect the identity of Census officials, the trainer suggested an incentive for hesitant respondents to share Aadhaar data. “At present, there is no single document that proves citizenship. If we get accurate information during Census, then in the future, this document may act as proof of citizenship,” the trainer said, adding that information provided during the Census is confidential.

The government has consistently maintained that Aadhaar is not a proof of citizenship. A senior Census official told this publication that no such instructions had been passed to trainers. “There is no instruction to link Aadhaar with citizenship test. The question is optional. If a person says that he or she has or even does not have Aadhaar, it will be recorded as such. The enumerator will ask for the Aadhaar number and if the respondent does not want to provide the details, the question can be skipped. The particular field trainer may have had some misconception,” the official said.

The enumeration includes 13 questions being asked for the first time: caste other than Scheduled Tribe/Scheduled Caste, religion, place and date of birth of both parents, number of bank accounts, spouse’s name, nationality, digital literacy, permanent residential address, place of Covid-19 vaccination, passport number, driving licence availability, and mobile, Aadhaar and voter ID numbers, if available.

Another question that enumerators were told to handle with care was Question 10C, which asks for the respondent’s caste. The trainer told enumerators to write the caste manually as told, with no drop box of options. “It is a sensitive question and your job is not to argue or do any kind of commentary on the issue. You have to navigate this question in a sensible way,” the trainer said. Responding to a question from the audience, the trainer said there would be no separate column for Other Backward Classes. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can choose names from a pre-determined drop box, while all others will have to type the caste name in an open column. This is independent India’s first caste enumeration. Question 10C says: “If not SC/ST in this State/UT-Enter Caste name.” Two other options are “Does not want to declare Caste” and “No Caste.” The data fields on caste are marked “mandatory.”

The training also flagged new queries on age and parents’ birthplace as areas requiring care. Officials have stressed the confidential nature of the Census and the optional nature of the Aadhaar question, even as enumerators prepare for longer interviews and sensitive responses.