The Registrar General of India (RGI) anticipates “organised movement” against the decennial Census exercise such as agitation for inclusion of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and court cases against the collection of data for the National Population Register (NPR).
The concern is documented in the Census of India 2021 Handbook for Principal/District Census Officers and Charge Officers that has been shared with all States last year.
Several States, including Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, have written to the Union government demanding an OBC Census. The caste Census is a contentious issue in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh assembly elections with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav promising to conduct the caste headcount within three months of coming to power.
