Page 12 - NIS English 16-31 May, 2026

The Census: A Long and Rich Tradition

India conducted its first synchronous census in 1881. However, the earliest references to census taking in the country are
found in ancient texts, such as Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ and Abul Fazl’s ‘Ain-i-Akbari’, among others...

n India possesses a long
and rich tradition of Post-Independence Censuses (1951–2011)
conducting censuses.
The earliest mention
of a census is The first census following
found in Kautilya's India’s independence was
'Arthashastra' conducted in 1951
(321–296 BCE).

n During the reign of Subsequently, the census
Emperor Akbar, continued to be conducted
a census was also every 10 years,
referenced in Abul up until
Fazl's seminal work, 2011
'Ain-i-Akbari'.
n The first systematic
and modern Due to the COVID-19
population census, in pandemic, the census
its present scientific scheduled for 2021 could
form, was conducted not be conducted; it is now
non-synchronously being carried out.
between 1865 and
1872 in the country.

India’s first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and implementing policies related to education, skill
during the country’s first post-independence census in development, healthcare, employment, and rural-urban
1951. He stated at the time, “The census, as an institu- development, census data proves to be not only accu-
tion, has a history stretching back to the distant past; rate but also highly effective. The census acts as a vital
its function is not merely to count people, but involves instrument for strengthening social harmony and ad-
the extraction of information that plays a pivotal role vancing the cause of justice. It identifies those segments
in shaping many of our administrative policies. The in- of society that have lagged in the race for development.
formation gathered during this exercise yields valuable Various government schemes—such as those focused
scientific data of immense social significance. In many on poverty alleviation, women’s empowerment, and
instances, it offers useful guidance that proves influ- rural development—become more targeted and effec-
ential not only in the realm of economic policies but in tive precisely because they are shaped by this data. This
other matters as well. The theory of population is, in process ensures that the light of development reaches
itself, a fascinating facet of economics. The census aids the very last person in society.
us in testing these theories and establishing a factual In the modern era, the importance of statistics is uni-
correlation with them.” versally acknowledged. Data plays a critical role in defin-
Indeed, the data derived from the census serves as ing both the current reality and the future destiny of any
the cornerstone of government policies. In formulating nation. We rarely pause to reflect on the true significance

10 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR || May 16-31, 2026