- Thursday, March 13, 2025
The first phase of this decade’s census was expected to begin on April 1, 2020 but had to be postponed due to the pandemic
By: Shajil Kumar
HOME minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday that the government will “very soon” make an announcement for carrying out the census in the country.
“We will announce it very soon,” Shah said in response to a question on conducting the decadal census of the Indian population which has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shah, along with I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, was addressing a press conference to mark the 100 days of the third tenure of the NDA government led by prime minister Narendra Modi.
“We will make all the details public when we announce the census,” the Union home minister said to questions on the caste census.
India has conducted the census every 10 years since 1881.
The first phase of this decade’s census was expected to begin on April 1, 2020 but had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
Shah’s comments on the census comes amid vociferous demands political parties on conducting a caste census.
In the absence of fresh data, the government agencies are still formulating policies and allocating subsidies based on the data of the 2011 census.
Manipur conflict
Shah said the government is trying to resolve a long-running conflict between two ethnic communities in the Manipur.
Internet and mobile data services were restored in Manipur on Monday, official orders showed, after being suspended in some areas last week when student protests turned violent amid fresh fighting between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki groups.
“We hope that we will be able bring the situation (in Manipur) under control,” Shah told reporters.
“If both (ethnic groups) do not come to an understanding, there won’t be a resolution to the matter,” Shah said, adding that the government was prepared with a “road map” outlining a range of efforts for the coming days.
Manipur’s government is led by Bharatiya Janata Party.
The local government imposed a curfew in the Imphal Valley and surrounding districts last week, and government and private colleges in the state, which borders Myanmar, were also ordered shut for a few days.
Schools are set to reopen on Tuesday, according to a government order, while a partial curfew is still in effect.
At least 225 people have died and some 60,000 have been displaced since fighting broke out last year between the Meitei and Kuki communities over the sharing of economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education that are given to the tribal Kukis. (Agencies)
