Archive · 25 Aug 2026
Census 2027 Drops Beggars Category, Adds Natural Calamities
India’s 2027 Census will change how it records some information about people.
It will not have a separate box for people described as beggars or vagrants.
Instead, they will be included in a larger group called “others.”
Officials said very few people reported themselves in this category in the last Census.
They also said social stigma may have made the earlier numbers less reliable.
In 2011, about 3.8 lakh people were recorded in this group.
Future Census tables will therefore not separately show their numbers by age, religion, location, or education.
The new questionnaire will also record natural disasters as one possible reason why people moved.
Census 2027 will no longer separately record people identified as beggars or vagrants.
The category has been removed from the list of non-economic activities and folded into “others.”
About 3.8 lakh non-workers and marginal workers reported themselves as beggars or vagrants in 2011.
Earlier figures were considered unreliable because respondents may have avoided the stigmatized classification.
“Natural calamities” has been added as a new reason for migration in the 2027 questionnaire.
- Who
- Census 2027 and people previously classified as beggars or vagrants.
- What
- The separate “beggars and vagrants” category has been removed from the non-economic activity list.
- When
- The change applies to Census 2027; comparison figures cited cover the 1991, 2001, and 2011 Censuses.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- The category produced low returns and was considered unreliable because of social stigma.
- 2011 figure
- Around 3.8 lakh non-workers and marginal workers identified themselves as beggars or vagrants.
- 2001 figure
- Around 6.3 lakh people were recorded in the category.
- 1991 figure
- Around 5.4 lakh people were recorded in the category.
- Census 2027 classification
- Beggars and vagrants will be included under “others.”
- Data no longer listed separately
- Future tables will not separately provide figures by age, religion, state or union territory, and educational status.
- New migration reason
- Natural calamities have been added to the existing reasons for migration.