The changing contours of Census and castes

Census documents are a key to understanding the society and how the population is growing. The SEEEPC survey done in Telangana in 2024 throws up some surprises which are puzzling.

According to the 2011 Census, Telangana’s 10 districts had a population of 3,50,03,674, this number after more than a decade is 3,54,77,554 which is 1.35% increase which is the norm for decadal growth. And here is the interesting bit, the Samagra Kutumba Survey done on August 19, 2014, showed the State having 3,68,76,544 persons. Between these three data points is the key differentiator of caste in the SEEEPC survey.