Census 2027: Households will have to answer 33 questions

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: In the first phase of the Census 2027 operation to be started in Assam in April, householders to be surveyed will have to provide replies to 33 questions, including that on caste. The Registrar General and Census Commission have notified 33 specific questions, focusing on all aspects of day-to-day life, from the main cereal consumed to assets and properties.

Official sources said that in the first phase of the Census operations, during the housing enumeration, the evaluators will pose these 33 questions, such as cover material for the floor/wall/roof, sources of drinking water, type of toilet used, the number of vehicles/laptops/mobile phones/TVs, etc., the caste to which the householder belongs, main source of lighting, fuel used for cooking, waste water outlet, the availability of a kitchen and LPG connection, and the availability of bathing facilities, among others.

The government has already mapped out the enumeration blocks. Thousands of enumerators will be engaged to collect the data in the first phase. For the first time, the data entry will be done digitally, and the information will be collected using mobile applications. The Assam government has already appointed Biswajit Pegu as Director of Census, Assam.

This time, the Census will hold immense significance for the people of Assam, as it will map out the population pattern. During the last Census in 2011, the population of Assam was pegged at 3.12 crore, out of which 34% are Muslims, that is, 1.07 crore, including indigenous Muslims, the rate of which was 3%. The projected population of Assam in 2024 was calculated at 3.64 crore. The population in the 2027 Census is expected to be higher than the current figure. It is calculated that the Muslim population in the state will be 40% in this census.

A few months back, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that, at the way in which the Muslim population in Assam has been increasing in every census, Muslims will be 50% of the state’s population in 2041. In 2001, Muslims were the majority in the Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Nagaon, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts. At present, Muslims are in the majority in 15 districts in the state.

Also Read: Biswajit Pegu Appointment as New State Director of Census Operations