Call for ‘No caste, no religion’ identity in Census 2027

The issue has been raised before the Telangana High Court on several occasions. In 2010, an order concerning the school admission of a child recognized the right not to practice a religion under Article 25 of the Constitution

Metro India News | Hyderabad

The Indian Association of Peoples Lawyers (IAPL) has urged the Union Government to introduce a separate “No Caste, No Religion” (NRNC) category in the forthcoming Census 2027, arguing that citizens who do not identify with any caste or religion should have their choice officially recognized. The decennial Census, which began in India in 1872 and continued after Independence from 1951, has progressively expanded to include different social and demographic identities.

While caste enumeration was discontinued after 1951 except for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Union Government has now decided to include caste-related information in Census 2027. IAPL contends that people identifying as atheists, rationalists, humanists, materialists and others who reject religious and caste identities have historically remained unrecognized in official records. As a result, individuals and families are often compelled to select a religion or caste in school admissions, birth registrations, employment records and online government forms.

The issue has been raised before the Telangana High Court on several occasions. In 2010, an order concerning the school admission of a child recognized the right not to practice a religion under Article 25 of the Constitution. In 2023, another High Court order directed the Telangana government to provide a provision for persons claiming that they belong to no religion or caste in birth-registration applications.

Following further litigation, Telangana’s 2024 comprehensive socio-economic survey introduced a “No Religion and No Caste” category with a separate code. The survey reportedly recorded around 11.96 lakh people, or 3.4% of Telangana’s population, under this category. Two related cases—WP No. 1420 of 2026 and WP No. 40062 of 2025—are scheduled for hearing before the Telangana High Court on September 7, 2026.

IAPL has appealed to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to recognize NRNC identity in Census 2027, asserting that doing so would strengthen citizens’ fundamental rights to equality, dignity and personal identity under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.