New Delhi, March 10 Enumerators will "record the religion as stated by respondents" during the 2027 Census, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said, "In the Census, the enumerator records all religions/sects/beliefs as stated by the respondents."
"In the 2027 Census as well, the enumerators will record the name of the religion as stated by the respondent. In this regard, representations have been received from various organizations."
He was responding to a question by MP Rajkumar Roat who sought to know whether the absence of a distinct 'Tribal Religion' column in the previous Census hindered the separate religious identification of tribal communities and whether the government proposes to include a separate column for 'Tribal Religion' in the upcoming Census.
Roat also asked for details of the total population of Scheduled Tribes (STs) as per the 2011 Census, along with statistical data regarding the population of these sub-tribes and the various religions under which the tribal communities were enumerated in the country as per the 2011 Census, along with state and religion-wise data with regard to the tribal population in the country.
The MP has also asked for details of the proposals received by the government from various state governments requesting a separate column for tribal religion to establish the religious identity of the tribals, state-wise.
According to the 2011 Census, the total population of Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the country stood at 10,45,45,716, the minister said in the response.
The minister said the Census collects data on STs as per the notified lists of Scheduled Tribes of each state and Union Territory, and sub-tribe-wise data is not published separately.
According to the reply, data on the Scheduled Tribe population by religious community is available in official census tables at the state, Union Territory and district levels.